


Shatter Me

by FieryArtemis



Series: Everyday Kids, Heroes of Paris [16]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Sequel, adrienette - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:37:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FieryArtemis/pseuds/FieryArtemis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three months have past since Wavemaster kidnapped Marinette and Adrien told her that he already really liked someone else.  It’s been hard but Marinette is forever grateful for the support Chat Noir has given her over the last few months.  It’s brought them closer… much closer.  When Hawkmoth’s latest akuma threatens to shatter it all, Marinette will have to figure out just how much closer of a friendship she wants with Chat Noir.   Sequel to "Holding Out for a Hero"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well? How long has it been since I posted the last chapter of Holding Out for a Hero? How long has it been since so many of you started asking after a sequel? LOL! Here it is! Hopefully you readers will find this a satisfying follow up after Holding Out for a Hero. Standard warnings apply: Incredibly AU and canon divergent. Contains plot elements that might seem confusing if you’ve not read the first story or some of my other stories. I highly suggest reading Holding Out for a Hero first. All the other references you can probably just roll with! Anywho! Please enjoy!

“Alright so we have our research on Robespierre, the beginning of the Reign of Terror, and the storming of the Bastille.” Marinette summarized as she flipped through her group’s notes.  Everything was perfectly organized thanks to Adrien’s meticulousness.  She bumped the stack of papers against the table to straighten them up again.  Adrien leaned across the table, hand outstretched.

Marinette tried but ultimately failed in stamping down the butterflies that rose in her chest as his fingers brushed lightly across hers.  At least she didn’t blush.   _That_ would’ve been embarrassing.  Adrien had ripped her heart out of her chest nearly three months ago.  Alright, so that was a little overdramatic but he had rejected her.  Despite that fact, Marinette still found her heart racing every time she and Adrien talked.  She knew it would’ve been easier if she’d just avoided him.  No pesky racing heart or butterflies in her stomach if she didn’t see Adrien smile.  Marinette hadn’t been able to bring herself to avoid Adrien.  It had seemed so petty in her mind.  If Chat Noir could still hang out with Ladybug as a friend and still fight crime with her after being rejected then Marinette could hang out casually with Adrien too!

 “So all we need to research no is the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.” Adrien added as he made a note of something on the top page.  “After that we can start putting the report together for the presentation.”

“Yes!” Nino cheered, pumping his arms into the air.  His outburst earned him more than a few nasty glares from other people in the library.  Nino didn't seem to care though.  He just leaned back on to the back two legs of his chair.  “We’re, like, halfway finished with the leg work and we still have another two weeks before the project is due.”

“We can take the weekend for a break!” Alya grinned.  

“I am _totally_ ready for a break.” Marinette smiled back as she rested her head on her hands.  

“You know what this means?” Nino asked.  He turned to look at Alya, wiggling his eyebrows.  Alya’s grin stretched bigger.

“Date night!” crowed the two of them together.  Again people turned to glare at them as they shared a high five.  Marinette rolled her eyes.  They’d been like this ever since they’d started dating.

“You two are going to get us all kicked out of the library.” Adrien said.  He cast a nervous glance around for the librarian.

“Don’t be jealous because you don’t have any plans for this weekend.” Nino told him with a smirk.

“I’ll… I’ll have you know that I do have plans!” Adrien sputtered.  A bright red blush creeped from his neck up and on to his face.  “I’m hanging out with a friend tonight.”

Marinette looked down at the scratches on her paper.  She wondered who Adrien’s ‘friend’ was exactly.  Judging by the way he was blushing and stammering, it was probably someone he liked.  A lot.  He had told her that he already had someone he liked when he had rejected her.  Adrien was probably meeting up with that person.  Marinette chewed on her bottom lip.

“Hey Marinette,” Alya shoved her lightly.  Marinette looked up.  There was a smile on Alya’s lips that looked a little forced.  “When do you see _Felix_ again?”

Adrien and Nino looked up quickly.  Marinette’s eyes went wide as she stared at Alya.  “Alya!” she hissed.  “Don’t just blurt things like that out loud!”

For Alya’s part, she looked completely unphased that she’d just dropped their alias for Chat Noir in front of two people who weren’t in on the secret.  Marinette could’ve killed her.  She buried her head in her hands.  “Who is Felix?” Nino asked curiously.

“No one!” Marinette responded quickly.  Too late.  Nino and Adrien were already staring at her.  Nino had a giant grin on his face.  Adrien had a more careful expression on his face.  Marinette felt her cheeks heating up.  Oh!  There was the blush!  Wonderful.

“Doesn’t sound like he’s no one.” teased Nino.

“He is,” mumbled Marinette in a very unconvincing way.

“Felix is Marinette’s _friend_.” Alya explained.  She said ‘friend’ in a way that made Marinette turn an even brighter red.  “She hangs out with him all the time.”

“It isn’t like that Alya.” Marinette said as she sunk down in her chair.

“So… Why haven’t we heard of Felix before?” asked Nino, completely ignoring Marinette’s mortification.

“He doesn’t go to this school.” Marinette said.  

“Well obviously.  There isn’t a Felix that goes to our school.” Nino rolled his eyes and leaned forward so that his elbows were propped up on the table.  “So _how do_ you know him?”

“He’s in my journalism club at the rec center.” Alya answered for her.  Marinette just nodded along.  It was easier.

Nino’s demeanor changed subtly, eyebrows rising.  “I didn’t think that there was anyone named Felix in your journalism club.”

Alya waved her hand dismissively, “That’s because I’m not really close with him.  Marinette is though.  Aren’t you?  So when do you see him again?  Didn’t you say you two had something planned for tonight? Do you think he’ll bring you roses again like he did the last time?  I know you said you didn’t want him too but...”

“They were yellow roses, not red and I like daisies better anyways.” she mumbled.  

“I bet he will.” Alya said in a half conspiratorial whisper.

Marinette sent her a wide eyed warning glance.  Alya promptly ignored it and nudged Marinette with her elbow.  For some strange reason she then _winked_ at Marinette.  That was when it hit her.  There was an ulterior motive behind all this.  Why else would Alya be wanting to have this conversation in public?  Oh she was going to kill Alya.  “Alya!  Can we please not talk about this here… again?”

“Where’s he taking you?  Somewhere _romantic_?” Alya pressed onwards, completely ignoring Marinette’s plea.  Marinette sunk lower in her chair from the mortification.  Leave Alya to drag Chat Noir into normal conversation.  What exactly was she hoping to get out of this?

“I’m not engaging in this discussion.” Marinette muttered under her breath as she buried her head in her hands on the table.  It was a futile gesture because it was quite obvious that Alya didn’t need her to participate.  

“I know you’ve thought about it… You and Ch… _Felix_ .” Alya said.  “Especially _recently_ .  The boy _totally_ has had a crush on you for ages.  Probably has since you two first met.  And what was it you were telling me last night on the phone?  Oh yeah, you feel like your relationship with him has changed over the last couple of months.”

Marinette snapped her head up and stared at her in utter shock.  She wasn’t supposed to just _say_ that in public!  Marinette had told her that in complete secrecy!  In fact they shouldn’t be talking about any of this in public!   She opened her mouth to tell Alya off but all that came out was a pitiful little squeak.  

“He’d be the perfect boyfriend for you Marinette.” Alya told her in a mock conspiratorial voice.  Marinette could literally _feel_ the color draining out of her face.

“That’s enough Alya!” snapped Adrien.  There was a loud clatter as the chair he’d been sitting in hit the ground.  People were staring at them clear from the other side of the library.  There was even a librarian looking at them through her horn-rimmed glasses with narrowed eyes.  Adrien’s hands were wrapped tight around the edge of the table and his teeth were grit.  The look on his face was absolutely terrifying.  There was a slight tremor in his arms as he glared daggers at Alya.  Marinette and Nino both shrank away from him.  Alya, on the other hand, looked like the cat who’d just eaten the canary.  Marinette choked on her groan.  She suddenly knew _exactly_ what Alya’s ulterior motive was for bringing Chat Noir up in public.  In front of Adrien…

“Really Alya?” she whispered, shaking her head.  Alya gave her a knowing look and gave a subtle nod in Adrien’s direction.  Marinette suppressed her urge to whack Alya upside the head.  She knew better.  It was hard to make a person jealous if they didn’t like the other in _that_ way.

“She’s clearly uncomfortable so why do you keep pushing the matter?” Adrien demanded as he flung his hand in Marinette’s direction.  

“Gee Adrien…” Alya said with an oh-so-innocent voice.  “Are you maybe jealous that Marinette might be seeing someone that really likes her?”

Oh great!  There was even a little smile and an eyelash flutter when she said it.  

Adrien’s glare didn’t lighten.  His knuckles actually went white.  “What does that have to do with anything?  If Marinette doesn’t want to go on a date with this guy then she doesn’t have to and she definitely doesn’t need _you_ making her feel obligated to do it!  Marinette doesn’t owe anything to _anyone_!”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably.  She could barely force her voice above a whisper.  “It’s okay Adrien.”

Adrien turned to her.  He wasn’t glaring at her but the look on his face was just as intense as he stared her down.  “No it isn’t Marinette!  No one gets to tell you who you spend _your_ time with and you definitely don’t get to be bullied into submission by anyone either.”

Her mind immediately flew to Chat Noir.  Every bad pun and pick up line he’d ever used as well as all his careful measures to respect her wishes.  All the obvious lengths he went to make sure he never crossed a line or made her feel uncomfortable emblazoned in her mind.  She could distinctly remember his words to her on their first ‘totally not a date’ date.   _For what it’s worth, I know you don’t like me the same way I like you and I’m okay with that.  I’m glad to be just your friend.  And… I know it’s your life and you’re going to do whatever it is you want to do but I will be whatever you need me to be.  Friend, confidant, partner, whatever.  I’m here and that’s all I’ll ever want._

Marinette shook her head.  “You really have the wrong idea about Felix.”

“Marinette, I’m serious.  If this guy is being a pushy bastard like Jean was then run the other direction.  He doesn’t get to try and convince you to change your mind.  It doesn’t work that way!”

The gears in her brain came to a resounding screeching halt.  Marinette heard the words ‘pushy bastard’ and ‘Jean’ and instantly stopped listening.  How could Adrien even begin to compare her Chat Noir, _her partner_ , to the entitled ass that had kidnapped her after allowing himself to be akumatized in a jealous fit!  How dare he.  How dare he!  They were _nothing_ alike!  “Stop.  Talking!” Marinette hissed as each word came out with enough venom to kill an elephant.

Alya and Nino immediately looked at her.  Alya reached out to her but Marinette must have been giving off enough cold rage to stay her hand because she froze midway through the motion.  Nino was glancing between Adrien and Marinette with a clearly worried look on his face.  He was tugging on the back of Adrien’s shirt, trying to get his attention.  It wasn’t working.

“You know it’s true.  He could hurt you!”

“Him?  Hurt me?” she spat.  The blood was rushing to her face for a completely different reason this time.  Chat Noir hurting her intentionally?  He’d rather use Cataclysm on himself!  Adrien suddenly froze like he’d suddenly realized he’d made a mistake.  That was probably the understatement of the year.  Marinette wasn’t done though.  “You don’t even know him!  Don’t even dare comparing him to Jean!  They are nothing alike.  He has been nothing but respectful and a friend to me since we first met.  If there’s one person in my life that I trust completely and without hesitation it’s Ch… Felix!”

Marinette just barely managed to catch herself before Chat Noir’s name slipped through her lips in anger.  Everyone in the library was definitely staring at them now.  She could feel every single pair of eyes on her and Adrien.  In fact, the librarian was now on the way over to either kick them out or send them to the principal’s office.  It didn’t matter though.  She wasn’t staying to listen to anyone, even Adrien, disparage her partner.  “If you guys think that we’re done for the day then I’ll think I’ll be going.  I’ve got other things I need to do before tonight.” she told the entire group tersely.  

Without waiting for them to say anything, Marinette bent down and collected her back pack.  She wasn’t sure when exactly she’d stood up but she was standing.  Adrien, Alya, and Nino all stared at her as she stormed away.  The librarian barely got a choked out, indignant threat as Marinette swept past him.  Marinette heard Alya call after her but she didn’t stop.  She’d get a text later on about it.  Marinette was certain about that.  Again, she couldn’t find it in herself to care as she headed down the deserted hallway.

“Marinette!”  Adrien called after her.  “Marinette!  Please wait!”

Adrien’s sounded like he was pleading with her.  Marinette couldn’t help it.  She turned.  Adrien was sprinting after her down the hall.  His eyes were wide and the color had drained out of his face.  It really was unfair that the butterflies in her chest decided this was the perfect moment to take flight again.  Stupid crush!  She was trying to be angry at Adrien and it was kind of hard to do that when he was chasing after her.  How many times had she had _that_ particular fantasy?  Too many to count.  Marinette swallowed the lump down in her throat and forced herself to keep walking.  “Marinette, pl… whoa!”

Marinette spun around just in time to see Adrien stepping on a stray paper that someone had dropped on the ground.  His arms pinwheeled through the air in a futile gesture to keep himself from completely wiping out.  It didn’t work though.  His feet went flying out from under him and he landed flat on his back with a hard, resounding ‘thud’ on the ground.  All Marinette could do for a moment was look at him and blink.  “A… are you okay?” she asked as she took a step in his direction.

And then another step and then another.

She knelt by his side.  Adrien groaned loudly as he laid on the ground.  He ran his hands through his hair and let his palms rest over his eyes.  “Stupid, rotten, crummy bad luck.  Just once.  That’s all I ask.  Just _once_!” he continued muttering under his breath but it was all lost as he rolled over on to his side.

He gave a heavy grunt as he climbed back to his feet.  Marinette stepped away to give him some space.  “What did you want Adrien?” she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Listen I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to make you so angry.  It’s just that I worry about you.” he apologized as he waved his hands through the air emphatically.  Marinette bit her lip and stared at her feet.  He sounded completely sincere too. “You’re my friend and I don’t want to see you hurt.  It… it scares me.”

Once more, Marinette found herself turning beet red.  The embarrassment was back.  Only this time it wasn’t just because she was talking to the boy she still had a crush on.  Nope!  Marinette was just now realizing that Adrien had absolutely no idea that Felix was Chat Noir.  He had absolutely nothing to go off of except for what he’d just listened to Alya say which, if Marinette were honest with herself, did paint him as a bit pushy and entitled. 

Marinette combed her fingers through her hair and forced herself to look at him again.  “I… I understand.” she told him quietly, “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

“I know it’s your life and you’ll do whatever you want but I just heard Alya say all those things and… I had a flashback.”

Marinette shuffled her feet against the tiles.  “I get that and I while I appreciate it…”

A door opening around the corner and footsteps distracted her.  Marinette and Adrien automatically shifted sideways to move out of the oncoming person’s way.  Adrien opened his mouth to say something else.  However, someone else’s voice cut him off before he had a chance to say anything.

“Mar… Marinette?”

Marinette felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head.  Every muscle in her body snapped tight, rigid and unmoving.  She still had nightmares where that voice was calling to her in a dark, cold, deserted warehouse and demanding to know where she was hiding.  Bumps rose on her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.  It was like she could feel a pair of cold, vice-like hands gripping her forearms, leaving marks in her skin.  The image of a boy with dark hair and blue tinged skin shot to the very forefront of her mind.   Slowly, she turned to face the owner of the voice.  “H… hey Jean,” Marinette said weakly and in a voice that was almost too quiet to be heard.  “How are you?”

“I’m, uh fine.” Jean answered.  He looked absolutely normal.  Black hair and eyes, no fins on his legs or arms, and definitely no blue tinge to his skin.  A completely average and normal teenaged boy.  There was not a single trace of the akuma he’d been transformed into.  Nope!  Not a single trace of Wavemaster to be found.  He twisted the strap of his swim team practice bag tighter in his fist.  With his other hand he scratched the back of his neck.  “What about you?”

“Oh… you know, just classes and homework and um… stuff.” she said.  Marinette hated the way that her voice trailed away from her.  She hated that all she could think about at the moment was being alone with Wavemaster in that pitch black warehouse.  She hated the way that she rubbed her hands over her forearms where Wavemaster had once touched her.  Jean wasn’t Wavemaster but it had been his jealousy that had akumatized him and it had been his steadfast refusal to take no for an answer that had lead to Wavemaster kidnapping her.  

“That’s cool.” Jean said with a light shrug.  He shifted from side to side, almost nervously.  It had been a long time since she’d actually _talked_ to Jean.  They passed each other in the hall but Marinette always looked away or turned the other direction when she saw him.  She had the sneaking suspicion that Jean did the same thing.  It was a very far cry from seeing each other every morning in the art room to sketch fashion and designs and paint.  A lifetime seemed to have gone by since Marinette had last called Jean her friend.

“Yeah,” Marinette mumbled.  She had the burning, itching sensation creeping through her legs.  She _really_ wanted to leave.  Badly.

“Made it to the Championship meet, huh Jean?” Adrien asked throwing his arm over Marinette’s shoulder abruptly.  She jumped.  Somehow, she’d completely forgotten that Adrien was with her.  “Nino mentioned something to me about a few of his teammates qualifying.  You must have been one of them.”

Jean started.  Apparently he hadn’t realized that Adrien had been standing behind Marinette.  Their eyes locked over Marinette’s shoulder.  “Yeah, the meet is in a couple of weeks.” Jean replied as he shifted once more as he stared at Adrien.  

“Ahh, I see.” Adrien nodded.  “I imagine that your practice should be starting soon.  It starts a little before four every day right?  Right after you and the rest of the team going to the Championship meet finish up study tables if I’m correct.  I mean, that’s what Nino’s told me anyways.  Last I checked it was gettin’ kinda close to practice time wasn’t it?”  

There was something distinctly unfriendly in his voice.   It wasn’t cold or nasty.  It was mostly short and terse.  Adrien’s voice cut straight to the point.  He sliced right through the tension that hung around them in the hallway.  It was quite clear that he had no interest in letting Jean stick around to chat.  “I, uh… I just finished up with our homework.  I was heading down to meet up with the rest of my teammates.” Jean said, twisting his fist even tighter.

“Better run along then,” Adrien growled, “don’t want to be late now do you?”

Feral.  Adrien sounded downright feral.  Marinette could almost _feel_ the sneer on his face.  She had to suppress the urge to turn around and look at him.  She was pretty certain that she’d never seen him sneer before.  Adrien pulled her close and flat against her chest.  That was when she realized that his arms were trembling and his heart was racing.  She could feel each movement through her back.  Adrien’s other hand slipped on to her other shoulder.  He squeezed reassuringly.  Marinette fell stiffly back into the support he was offering.  

For a moment, Jean didn’t say anything.  He only stared at Adrien.  Then he dropped his eyes and looked at the ground.  He swallowed before nodding slightly.  “You’re right.  I gotta go.  I will…” he started to say before stopping suddenly.  “Have a good afternoon Marinette.”

“Bonsoir Jean.” Marinette mumbled.  Once more Adrien squeezed her shoulder and drew his arm tighter over her.  Jean ducked his head and slipped past the two of them.  He didn’t even glance at Marinette as he went by.  

He was all the way down the hall and out of sight when Marinette let out a breath she hadn’t realized that she was holding.  Her shoulders sagged and she slumped against Adrien’s chest.  “I know he has no memory but he still makes me feel so… so…”

“Unnerved?” offered Adrien.  His voice fell sort of flat.  Unnerved, that was one word for it.  Marinette thought helpless would’ve been a better one.  She’d been separated from her Miraculous when Wavemaster had taken her.  Had it not been for Chat Noir…

Marinette shuddered.  She couldn’t bare to think about what would’ve happened to her had Chat Noir not found her in time.

“Do you see Jean around often?” Adrien asked her. His voice was deadly serious.

“No, not really.” she shook her head.  “Thank goodness for that.  I don’t think I could handle it.”

Chat Noir had had words with Jean after she’d left the warehouse.  She had no idea what he’d said to him exactly but she had the distinct feeling that it hadn’t been pleasant.  Marinette had asked him not to do anything he’d regret.  Obviously, Chat Noir hadn’t gone overboard because Jean was still breathing.  Whatever _had_ been said though had been enough to keep Jean from seeking her out.  Chat Noir probably would’ve told her, or at least Ladybug, if she asked but Marinette had no desire to know.  However, she was eternally grateful to Chat Noir.

“Good,” Adrien answered simply.

That’s when Marinette became acutely aware of just how close Adrien was to her.  His hands were wrapped all over her shoulders and her back was against his strong, firm chest.   He was warm and secure and made her feel protected.  And she had fantasized about something like this only about a million times.  

A strangled squeak broke from her throat as heat rose into her cheeks.  She pulled away from Adrien, heart hammering against her chest and stomach flipping at an insane interval.  “OhmygoshI’msosorry!” she sputtered, flailing her arms like a pinwheel.  

All the color drained out of Adrien’s face. It was painfully clear that he’d just remembered her still present crush on him.  He waved his hands in front of him and shook his head vigorously.  “No, no… I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have… yeah, God I’m sorry.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets then pulled them out again so he could fold them behind his back.  Even then he seemed to decide against that and simply let them hang by his side.  Right… she was the one with the crush on him.  He was desperately trying not to exasperate it.  Adrien liked someone else anyways and it hurt horribly.  Like a knife to her gut.  “I really should go now.  I do kind of need to get ready to meet my friend.”

“Felix you mean?” Adrien pressed.

“Yes,” Marinette told him.

Adrien bit his lip.  “Listen Marinette, I really think you should be careful.  I know you said…”

“Felix is a _good_ and _trusted_ friend.  He has done nothing but go out of his way to keep me from feeling uncomfortable.  Sure he drops a cheesy pick up line every now and again but I know he’d stop if I ever told him that he was making me uncomfortable.  He’s _always_ been a gentleman to me and he’s a decent person.” Marinette interrupted him.  She felt like she was emphasizing every word out of her mouth to drive her point home.  There was no way she was about to let him start up again with his ‘anti-Felix/Chat Noir’ campaign.  It felt so wrong!

“You’re my friend and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Adrien, I appreciate your concern, really I do, but please… just butt out okay.” she told him with a sharp note of finality.  

Marinette spun on her heel and and strode down the hallway.  This time Adrien didn’t follow her.  That was a huge relief.  “Are you alright Marinette?” Tikki asked, popping up from inside her purse.  

“I shouldn’t have snapped at him.” whispered Marinette.  “Adrien was only trying to be a good friend and I just…”

“No!” Tikki cut her off.  “You were right to defend yourself and Chat Noir.”

“But don’t you think that what Alya was saying makes it seem like Chat _is_ pushy and demanding?  I mean, in Adrien’s defense he had no clue that isn’t the case.  It isn’t like he knows that I was talking about one of Paris’s renowned heroes.”

“Adrien made an assumption and you’re right, anyone could’ve done that.  He didn’t listen to you though when you told him that he had the wrong idea about ‘Felix.’  If he’s your friend and you’ve given him no reason not to then he should trust your word.”

“I know he cares.  Like he said, he doesn’t want to see me get hurt… especially after Jean.  The idea of Chat hurting me intentionally is completely ridiculous and I couldn’t just sit there and listen to Adrien say such horrible things about him.”

“That was why you stood up to him and set him right.  There’s no harm in defending the people you care for.  It’s the special part of you that makes you _you_.” Tikki assured her.  She slipped out of Marinette’s purse and rubbed her cheek soothingly.  Marinette cracked a small smile.  

“Thanks Tikki.” giggled Marinette.

“Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “I’ll be fine.  I’m looking forward to seeing Chat tonight I think. He always makes me feel better when I’m having a rough day.”

That was probably the understatement of the year.  Right after Adrien had rejected her, Chat Noir had there for her.  He’d broken some girl’s heart right around the same time and it had obviously been eating him alive.  However, he’d put it on the back shelf to comfort her.  If Marinette went back over the course of their partnership, she couldn’t even begin to count how frequently that happened.  Chat Noir was always putting her first.

Tikki let out a tiny relieved sigh and smiled warmly.  She dropped down and nestled herself in Marinette’s blazer.  “Have you thought about what Alya asked you?  Really thought about it?”

“Thought about what?”

“You and Chat Noir and if you might want something more with him?”

“What!” Marinette flushed bright red.  The tips of her ears were literally burning with embarrassment.  Tikki looked at her with a patient expectancy.  “I… I… uh…”

Tikki nuzzled her warmly, “It’s alright.”

X   X   X

 

Thunk.  Thunk.  Thunk.

“Kid… I hate to tell you this but headpressing is a sign of serious neurological problems in cats.” Plagg told him as he watched Adrien rhythmically bash his head into the wall.

“I’m not headpressing.” muttered Adrien.  “I’m just beating my head against a wall until I make myself bleed from my ears.”

“Yep! Definitely no neurological problems there.” Plagg commented.

Adrien let out a low growl and completely ignored him as he continued to take his frustrations out on the wall and his head.  

“Will you knock it off?” sighed Plagg.  Adrien suddenly found it impossible to continue his present course of action on account of Plagg darting into the middle of his path.  “You _fixed_ it with Marinette as Alya put it.  You apologized to her and explained where you were coming from.  She’s forgiven you… mostly.  I think.”

Adrien grasped his head and groaned.  He had a headache that was from more than smacking his head into the wall. “I made her feel horrible and the worst part is that I can’t bring myself to change my opinion on this Felix guy.”

“You have a natural disposition to protect people.  It’s just who you are kid, but like she said, it isn’t your place so put your sword down Mr. Knight in full body leather.” Plagg told him.

“But Plagg!” Adrien started.

“Pull yourself together Adrien!  Part of this is because you saw the former ‘Puddle’master and he dragged the alley cat out of you.  You heard Marinette.  Leave it be!” snapped Plagg.  Adrien stared at Plagg with wide eyes for a moment.  Then the guilt overtook him and he dropped his eyes to the ground.  Plagg was right.  He had to find some way to let the situation go.  The problem was he didn’t want to.  

Something warm hit his cheek.  A soft purr vibrated against his skin.  “You’re hanging out with Ladybug tonight.  Do me a favor and talk to her alright.  For some reason that girl always makes you feel better.” Plagg told him.

Adrien cupped his hand around Plagg.  He let himself sink into the warmth and affection.  Once again, Plagg was right.  Ladybug had always been his rock.  She’d helped him figure out how to be okay with turning down Marinette.  “Yeah, I’ll try.” he promised.

X   X   X

Therese tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder as she glided into the room still dressed in her practice leotard.  She smiled slightly at her partner.  Angeline sat on the ground with her back to Therese.  Her ashy blonde hair already in a bun for the night’s performance.  Angeline always wore her hair in a bun.  It seemed more unruly than usual however.  Actually, everything about her seemed a little off to Therese from her appearance to her demeanor.  The pair of ballet shoes in her lap were completely forgotten as she read over some letter.  There was a certain tightness in her shoulders that made Therese pause.  She moved towards Angeline as quietly as she could.  Being a dancer had it’s perks. 

“Angeline, my pet…” Therese trailed her fingers across Angelique’s shoulders.  “You need to focus on your shoes otherwise they aren’t going to be ready for tonight’s performance.”

“Huh?” Angeline looked up abruptly at her, eyes going wide with momentary confusion.  She looked up from her spot on the floor with the piece of paper she’d been reading still clutched in her hand.  

Therese laughed lightly and sat down beside her.  She pointed to the pair pointe shoes that were nestled between Angeline’s legs.  “Your shoes Angeline.  You need to sew your shoes for the show tonight.  What is it that has your attention instead I wonder?  Can I see what you’re reading?”

Angeline looked down at the piece of paper before flicking her eyes back up to Therese.  “It’s nothing Therese.  Don’t worry about it.” Angeline told her with a dismissive smile as she quickly folded the paper and stuffed it into the pocket of her zip up sweater.  

“Are you sure?  It didn’t look like nothing.  You seemed very preoccupied.” Therese pointed out, raising her eyebrow at Angeline..  

“I promise you it’s nothing.” Angeline insisted.  She picked up her shoes and her sewing needle.  Therese handed her the roll of elastic and favorite ribbon.

“Good I’m glad.  You know how important tonight is for us.  It’s our last performance before we audition with the touring company.  I’d hate for you to be worried or preoccupied right before a big show.” Therese told her.

Angeline touched her wrist gently.  “You worry too much.”

“There might be some big name critics there and I don’t want you to be nervous.  I know how difficult it is for you to dance if something doesn’t go just right the performance before.”

“Therese!” Angeline dropped her shoes in her lap and took Therese’s hands in her own.  “Stop it!  You’ll work yourself up to the point where _you’ll_ have a hard time performing.”

Therese pulled away and shook her head a little.  “You’re right of course.  I’m sorry.  I’m just so excited about our audition next week.  Can you imagine it?  All our dreams coming true!  Dancing ballet professionally, like we used to talk about when we were learning the difference between first and third position.”

Angeline cracked a thin smile.  “It will be like one of the fairy tale ballets we like to perform so much.”

“Of course.” Therese nodded.  She closed her eyes and rested her head against Angeline’s shoulder.  Bright lights, thunderous applause, beautiful costumes, and stunning dancing all filled her mind.  In all her visions it was the two of them.  Her and Angeline.  Therese opened her eyes and beamed at Angeline.  She couldn’t suppress her laugh.  “We’ll be primadonnas.  Our big shot.  I can’t believe it!"

Angeline swept her hand over Therese’s hair.  “Almost too good to be true.” she murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it with part 2. Things kind of start to get interesting here. Not nearly as interesting as part 2 was of "Holding Out for a Hero" but plenty interesting enough. I hope. Also, we are back to my normal upload schedule of new chapters coming out on Tumblr on Friday at 9 EST and updates hitting and AO3 on Saturday! I've also finalized the chapter count. "Shatter Me" will have SEVEN chapters! As usual, this is very AU/canon divergence and a sequel.

"Good evening my lady!" Chat Noir called as he landed on the opposite side of the pavilion's roof. Ladybug turned. He was in the process of shrinking his staff and slipping it into it's holder as he sauntered towards her. Ladybug's lips twitched in a half smile.

"Hey kitty. I was wondering where you were at." she said to him. "Usually when you give me a time and a place to meet you at for these 'not a date' dates you're pretty punctual."

"I know I'm a little late today. I'm sorry." he sighed as he dropped beside her, dangling his feet off the side of the pavilion's roof. His legs swung slightly as he stared down unseeingly at the stage below them. His shoulders slumped forward and his leather faux cat ears drooped. "Got a little held up at home before I could transform is all."

"Your dad giving you trouble again?" she asked him. He gave a snort.

"Maybe if he were actually home enough to give me trouble." A full on eye roll accompanied the remark as he leaned back on to his hands. The tension in his shoulders remained. Chat Noir stared at the sky momentarily before giving a laborious, not to mention overdramatic, sigh before casting a sideways glance at her. "Nah, Plagg was being a little jerk about transforming."

"Why?"

Chat Noir pinched his nose, turned to look at Ladybug, and gave her a dead serious look before saying, "'I'm not gonna just sit through some dumb, boring dance recital. Are you insane?'"

Ladybug pressed her hand over her mouth. Unfortunately, the laugh still escaped. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry. Your kwami gives you such a hard time and I know I shouldn't laugh but… is that what he really sound like?"

"Right now he's in my head and threatening to eat my socks while I'm sleeping. No, he doesn't really sound like that." Chat Noir laughed too. He leaned over to whisper in his ear. "He totally sounds like that."

Ladybug burst out laughing loud enough to make the people working below them look up. Some of them stopped what they were doing to wave at them. Ladybug and Chat Noir grinned sheepishly down at them and waved back.  _He's really quite horrible_ , Tikki said in her head. Ladybug wondered which one she meant. Plagg or his chosen. She shook it off. "So how did you convince him to let you transform then?"

"I may or may not have promised him his very own wheel of camembert cheese when we get back home tonight."

"Ew! Your entire room is going to stink for ages!"

"Well even if I have to sleep with the windows open for the next three days, it will be one hundred percent worth it. Even if it made me lose my 'on the dot' punctuality." he winked and purposely poked one of Ladybug's black spots on her uniform.

"These are  _spots_  you silly cat." Ladybug told him hotly.

"I couldn't make a pun about spots and time." snickered Chat Noir.

"You shouldn't make puns about  _anything_. They're the worst!"

"My puns are the pinnacle of wit and charm."

"You keep telling yourself that Chat." she said, as she tweaked his nose playfully.

He leaned into her touch, a broad smile on his face. His nose was practically touching hers. "I know you enjoy my humor."

"Tolerate is a much better word for it." she pushed him away. Something familiar fluttered in her stomach. Ladybug threw on the mental brakes. This wasn't supposed to happen! Chat Noir was her partner. She was not about to have annoying pesky butterflies tying up her insides into intricate knots that were to hard to untie. That was only supposed to happen to her around Adrien!

Chat Noir suddenly realized that she was having some sort of mental breakdown. "I'm sorry. I made it weird… and uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable."

"You're fine. I'm fine. It's okay so don't worry about it." Ladybug said. She brushed her hand through one of her pigtails. "Thanks for inviting me out tonight. I really needed this I think."

He shrugged, "No problem. I'm just glad we were able to spend some down time together."

He left it at that and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Below them people were running to and fro to set up the seats and lighting for the show. There were crew members on the stage making sure that sound and video feeds were working properly. Over her shoulder, Ladybug could see a crowd forming at the gates to get in. One of the perks of being a hero of Paris was the early access into the show. Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't need tickets. They also had arguably the best seats in the house. Chat Noir had done a good job scoping out the recital hall. Ladybug could see everything from where she was sitting. She looked over at him to tell him just that. The words died on her lips however.

There was still something bothering Chat Noir. She could tell from the way he held himself like a tightly coiled spring. His fingers tapped out an irregular beat on the roof and she could hear the clacking of his claws. His feet were still swinging underneath of him too. The absentminded way he stared down at the stage was concerning too. It wasn't a full on glare but it was insanely intense. If his tail were animate then Ladybug was almost certain that it would've been lashing from side to side.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked. Chat Noir jumped when he felt her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong and don't say nothing because I know you way too well for that to work."

Chat Noir looked at her with wide eyes. He opened his mouth and closed it again, like he wasn't sure how to phrase what was on his mind. "I… I, uh…" he stammered.

"Are you sure your dad's not upsetting you. I know we don't share a lot about our civilian lives for secret identity reasons but you know I'm here for you." Ladybug reminded him quietly, slipping her hand down his arm and squeezing his wrist supportively. The shades of yellow, orange, and pink in the evening sky made Chat Noir's cheeks look more pink than what they actually were. At least Ladybug thought it was the sky. She hoped it was the sky. She drew her hand away from his wrist and stuffed it into her lap. It hurt when Adrien exacerbated her crush. It definitely had to hurt Chat Noir when she exacerbated his crush.

Chat Noir either didn't notice Ladybug's sudden movement or was too gentlemanly to comment on it. Probably the latter. Chat Noir, horrible jokes and pick up lines aside, was the epitome of gentlemanly behavior. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. His shoulders and ears drooped even further if that was even possible. "I told you a few months ago that I broke a girl's heart. You remember that right?"

There was no joy or enthusiasm in his voice. He crossed his arms over his chest and pressed his eyes shut.

"Of course," she answered. "You said that you two were going to try staying friends."

"We did. It's painfully awkward sometimes but we, uh, you know work through it and deal with it. She's incredibly sweet and kind and I'm worried about her."

"Why? What happened?"

"I think I screwed up. A few months ago, right around the time that I told her I didn't like her the same way she liked me, there was another guy that really hurt her. Scared me to death. He… he wa… well it wasn't pretty that's for sure."

Wavemaster and her own ugly experience with a guy that hurt her shot through her mind. Ladybug suppressed a shiver. The evening was starting to get a bit chilly. She nodded, "Uh-huh."

"Well today I just found out that she's been hanging out with some guy that neither me or our friends really know."

"And you're afraid history is going to repeat itself." Ladybug finished his unspoken thought with absolute certainty. Chat Noir didn't say anything. All he could do was nod dejectedly.

Ladybug sighed. This seemed vaguely familiar. She and Adrien had literally just talked about this at school. Okay, argued was a better word for it. However at least it gave her a good perspective to help Chat Noir. Ladybug reached up and rubbed his shoulder. "Did you talk to her about it?"

"I tried to…" his voice trailed off momentarily. "She didn't take it kindly. She told me to stay out of it."

Ladybug nodded, "Did she say anything about this guy that sent red flags up to you?"

"Her best friend said some things that didn't sit right with me but when I asked her about it she told me that I had the wrong idea." explained Chat Noir. He muttered something else underneath his breath that Ladybug didn't catch. Ladybug shifted and furrowed her brow thoughtfully.

Adrien had simply made the assumption that whoever she was spending time with was bad news. That had bothered her beyond even her understanding. "Do you trust your friend?" she asked him.

Chat Noir blinked in confusion, "She's my friend. Of course I trust her. I just don't trust this random guy."

"That isn't the point. If your friend tells you that there's nothing to be worried about with this guy then you really should listen to her. I want my friends to trust my word. It means the world to me." Ladybug said. She meant it too. That was probably what hurt the most she realized. Adrien was supposed to be her friend but he hadn't wanted to believe her word. He'd wanted to listen to his own blind assumption.

Beside her, Chat Noir sat silently. He'd grabbed his belt tail and was in the process of twisting it in his hands. Ladybug took his hands off of his tail. "I get that you're worried and that you only want to keep your friend safe. It's in your nature. However, if you're really wanting to be her friend then you've got to trust her."

He nodded slowly. "I guess you're right."

"You guess?"

"Okay, you're definitely right." Chat Noir laughed.

"And don't you forget that kitty." Ladybug slapped him on the shoulder.

"Let's not talk about this anymore okay. I've been looking forward to hanging out with you tonight and I don't want to spend my time worrying about something I can't control." he said. Chat Noir's voice  _finally_  took on its usual chipperness and his body started to relax. Ladybug watched with relieved satisfaction as all the tension flooded out of his shoulders.

"Alright then," she smiled. The gates opened up and the ushers started showing people to their seats for the show. Ladybug was impressed with how many people had shown up. "Tell me a little about this superstar dance company that you were so excited to bring me to tonight."

"The Young Parisian Ballet Company. They're the area's foremost ballet troupe, like best of the best. They go to all the biggest competitions all around Europe and always clean house. They've won like a bajillion awards and all the big scouting agents come to recruit them for professional ballet companies. These guys are uber prestigious!" All his words came out in a tumultuous rush. His hands flailed through the air as he spoke passionately. Ladybug had to bite her lip to keep from laughing or telling him that he should breathe in between his sentences.

"A bit of a super fan are you? You don't really strike me as the type." she said instead.

Chat Noir ducked his head sheepishly. He blushed in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his neck. "My mom used to be one of the biggest patrons for the company. About a third of the dancers are on scholarship. Mom used to take Dad and I to see them perform all the time. I haven't seen them since… well since my mom…"

Just like that his voice trailed off. Ladybug nudged his foot with hers. "You must be excited to see the group again." Ladybug remarked, making sure her voice stayed casual and light.

He shot her an appreciative smile and nodded faintly. Chat Noir didn't want to worry about things outside of his control tonight. She would make sure that happened. Then the lights dropped. Ladybug and Chat Noir perked up and cast their attention towards the stage. Spotlights bathed the stage in partial brightness. A conductor stepped up on to the podium and the live, large orchestra raised their instruments in preparation. He brought his baton down and the opening strains of a lively, bouncy song filled the air around them. Chat Noir practically lit up. "The Toreador March from  _Carmen_!" he whispered in her ear excitedly as two male dancers appeared on stage.

"I don't know it." she whispered back to him. The two dancers turned and leaped across the stage, using a pair of ruby red capes as props. With each step they took the capes fluttered through the air like bright wings. Three more female dancers came on stage with capes made of gold fabric.

" _Carmen_  is the story of passionate gypsy woman who attracts the attention of a young soldier and he falls in love with her." Chat Noir explained.

"Oh," Ladybug nodded but Chat Noir was still going.

"The thing is that Carmen, the heroine, is a fickle lover and breaks the soldier's heart when she meets a dashing bullfighter. This is the aria he sings when the bullfighter first appears."

"How sad," she murmured.

"It gets sadder." he told her quietly. However, with the way that the dancers were moving across the stage she had a really hard time believing it. The number ended the same bright way that it began. The dancers smiled wide and bowed to the audience. The audience erupted into a roar of applause. Chat Noir yelled over the top of crowd, "Bravo!"

Ladybug leaned over to him, cupped her hand to his ear, and told him, "You were right. These guys are amazing."

Chat Noir beamed, "This is just the opening act my lady."

The second act, a group of eight girls with varying ages, took their place on the stage. Some of them wore pointe while the younger ones still wore their flats. Their costumes were sparkling white with rhinestones that threw light and gauzy feathers that caught the breeze. The opening of Tchaikovsky's  _Swan Lake_  floated through the air. "I know this one!" she told Chat Noir, tapping him on the arm.

He laughed a little under his breath before turning to watch the performance himself. Act after act took the stage and each one was just as stunning to watch as the last. Chat Noir was a wealth of information. He always had something to say about what was happening on stage whether it was about the music, the story behind the dance that was performing, or about the dancing itself. Ladybug found herself hanging on every word he said while trying really hard to focus on the dancing that was going on in front of her.

A light touch hit Ladybug's knee as Chat Noir rearranged his position. Her gaze snapped down and instantly her stomach flipped over itself. Chat Noir was angled close to her with his shoulder tucked up close to hers. His knees were touching hers! Oh heaven help her! When had they gotten so close? Probably when he'd first started leaning over to whisper in her ear. Yes, that had to be it. She and Chat Noir must have just kept creeping closer and closer to one another. Once more her stupid stomach did a stupid backflip and stupid butterflies rose in her stupid chest.

Chat Noir's hand rested easily on his thighs. His fingers were slightly curled underneath themselves. Ladybug's own fingers itched Just like the rest of his body, his hand was so incredibly close. She tightened her hand into a fist between her legs and wondered what he say if she were to just  _slip_  her hand into his and lace her fingers through his fingers. There was very little chance that Chat Noir would mind it. As Alya had so kindly pointed out again that afternoon, he'd had a crush on her for ages. He'd probably even welcome it, be excited that she wanted to hold his hand. Chat Noir would be more than excited. He'd be ecstatic. Again, Ladybug felt her fingers tingling. His hand looked so warm and she knew they were strong. She loved the way he held her so protectively sometimes that she didn't think he'd ever let go. She was grateful for the darkness as heat flooded her face. It would be nice to hold Chat Noir's hand.  _Really_ nice…

Then suddenly her mind skid to a stop. There was a definite reason she didn't hold his hand. Leading him on would just end up hurting him. Chat Noir clearly liked her in a way that she wasn't so sure she could match. But Ladybug  _did_  care for him… dearly. Not to mention how breaking that barrier between just friends and something more might ruin their relationship. Paris relied on them to have a well working partnership to save lives. Not to mention the fact that Chat Noir told her things that she was nearly certain he didn't tell anyone else. His struggle with trusting a friend that he was afraid was going to get hurt. Ladybug could almost bet that he hadn't told that to anyone else! She liked being his confidant and she like Chat Noir being hers! There was no way she was willing to risk that on some ill thought out whim. That and what would he think if he realized it was just plain Marinette underneath the mask.

Cold dread shot through every limb in her body. Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. Daring, brave, and heroic Ladybug. Marinette was none of those! There was no possible way that he wouldn't be disappointed when he got to know the painfully awkward and horribly uncool Marinette. She'd already been rejected by one boy she liked. Ladybug couldn't even begin to think about being rejected by her own partner. An iron weight dropped into the pit of her stomach. What would Chat Noir say once he realized it was his  _partner_  who had been kidnapped by Wavemaster? His  _partner_  that had been practically helpless. His  _partner_  that he'd had to come rescue because she'd been separated from her Miraculous. He would never look at her the same way again.

"My lady?" Chat Noir's voice cut through her thoughts. He sounded urgent. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Ladybug replied. It came out way too quickly. She looked at him but couldn't meet his gaze for very long. Instead she stared at the spots of dirt on the pavilion roof they were sitting on.

"I know it's dark but you look really pale." he pointed out.

Ladybug shook her head hard enough to make her pigtails whack the side of her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

"Are you thinking about that guy who turned you down?" The concern was evident in his face. His hand moved from his thigh and closed gently around her forearm.

"N… no!" Ladybug told him.

His fingers tightened reassuringly, "I hate seeing you upset."

Ladybug forced a thin smile back on her face. "You're really sweet Chat but I'm fine." she said.

As much as she liked Chat Noir, being more than friends and partners was out of the question. No matter how well she got along with him. No matter how much she thought that she might like to see where a relationship went.

The spotlights that had been illuminating the stage suddenly went dark. All the residual lights that were in the recital hall blinked out. Even the orchestra pit were gone. The entire place was pitch black. A dull, confused murmur rose around them as the audience looked around for some kind of answer. Lights from cell phones flickered, casting a dim glow around the seats below them. "What's going on?" she whispered to Chat Noir.

"Graduating seniors…" he answered reverently. Ladybug could picture Chat Noir's faux cat ears pricking forward to catch any small sound. Under his breath he muttered, "Stupid night vision. It's ruining the effect."

Something started moving on the stage below them. An airy tinkling sound, like that of a music box, poured through the speakers. Apparently there was no orchestral accompaniment for these next dancers. The clicking of clockwork matched up perfectly with grainy and old fashioned stylized film of gears and cogs turning played on a large screen that took up nearly the entire back of the stage. Purple lights blazed to life on opposite corners of the stage. Two dancers, one dark haired and the other blonde, faced each other on either end wearing gauzy white and gold costumes. Singing rose over the stage but the dancers didn't move. It wasn't until a violin crooned that the blonde haired dancer began to turn gracefully across the stage in an elegant, fluid motion. She paused a few paces away. The dark haired dancer followed a few beats later in a perfect echo of her partner.

The pre-recorded song was different from the live orchestra music that had accompanied the other dancers. However there was something poignant in the way the singer described being frozen in her fear and stuck in a routine, unable to break out and wishing desperately for someone or something to shatter it. The two dancers continued their call and response style movements. The blonde dancer would move and her dark haired partner would match her intricate footwork. They were perfect mirror images of one another as the tempo changed with drums and guitar.

The violin kicked up and suddenly the call and response was over. Both dancers spun to face the audience. Ladybug felt her heart beating against her ribcage. She could feel the bass of the speakers pounding in her chest. Beside her Chat Noir leaned forward, hands curled around the pavilion roof and foot bouncing to the music. The smile on his face stretched from ear to ear. She couldn't stop herself from smiling in response.

A change came over the blonde haired dancer. Pure, unadulterated passion overtook her. Every turn she made, every step, every jump and leap was punctuated with a power that was somehow still gracefully and elegant. Her partner even looked surprised for a half moment before trying to match the same intensity. However, as the music swelled and the violin pushed forward it was clear that it would be tough to dance with the same passion. It was as though she was dancing as if she'd never dance again. It was completely stunning.

The singer belted out her frustration and fear. About her desire to break through the glass but her paralyzing fear of change. About how there would be no one to catch her if she were to fail. Ladybug's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes could barely keep up with how fast the two were spinning. Then with a crash and one final plea, the song ended. The two dancers slid together, their arms stretching upwards, backs arched, feet crossed and chins angled to the sky.

"Oh wow," Ladybug breathed as she absentmindedly brought her hands together to join the thunderous applause that had erupted throughout the recital hall. "That was…"

"You can tell they were senior dancers. They'll be scouted for a professional troupe for sure." Chat Noir added. He beat his hands together before pressing his fingers into his mouth and letting a shrill whistle sail through the air.

The dancers eased out of their finale pose. The dark haired girl looked at her partner. She was absolutely beaming. The blonde girl flashed a quick smile before curtsying deeply. People sitting in the front row showered the stage and their feet with carnations. "They deserve roses." Ladybug half-shouted over the din.

"Carnations are the troupe's flower." explained Chat Noir. The stage lights were coming up again and the curtains were closing on the still waving dancers.

"Roses are the best though." Ladybug said but conceded. Chat Noir jolted beside her. She looked over to him and saw that he was turning pink. "What?"

"N… nothing." he stammered as he scratched the back of his neck. And then she suddenly remembered what Chat Noir had brought her the last time they'd met up.

 _Crap_ , thought Ladybug. Hadn't she  _just_  decided she wasn't going to do this. Nervously, she threaded her hand through one of her pigtails. "So… um, are you going to go down to meet and greet backstage? You know seeing as how you have some history with this troupe."

Chat Noir shrugged, "Nah. It's not like they would recognize me apart from the whole Superhero thing."

"You could detransform," she suggested. Ladybug felt like she was desperately trying to steer the conversation away from anything that could be construed as flirtatious or awkward.

"It's been a long time since I even saw anyone from the troupe." Chat Noir told her quietly. He shifted sideways.

"I highly doubt that they've ever forgotten someone like you. I bet if you were to go say hi the instructors and directors would totally remember you. They would probably be really happy to see you too."

"You think so?"

Ladybug gave him a smile and a nod, "Mm-hm. Totally. You really enjoyed watching them tonight. That much was clear. I'm sure they'd be excited to know that you're still a fan after so many years of not seeing them perform."

"I  _would_  like to tell some of the dancers that I really liked their performances. Those senior girls were amazing. But… that would mean I'd have to leave you for the night my lady." Chat Noir pointed out tentatively.

Part of her deflated. It wasn't like she could just follow him while he was a civilian and wait for him to get finished. It wasn't like he could walk her home. However she simply told him, "It's alright. I have to get home anyways. I've got some homework that I need to finish up."

"I think I will." he said after a moment. He climbed to his feet, giving a cute little cat stretch before offering his hand to help her up too. Ladybug accepted it and allowed herself to be pulled upright. Her stiff and cramped leg muscles protested the movement.

"Thank you for inviting me out tonight. I had a great time." She genuinely meant it. Ladybug suppressed the urge to reach out and squeeze his forearm. "See you tomorrow for patrol?"

"Wild wolves couldn't keep me away." he promised her as he gave her a little bow. "Bonne nuit Ladybug!"

With that, Chat Noir turned and gauged the distance between the pavilion roof and the ground below. He gave her one final wink and salute over his shoulder before making his jump. Ladybug was left standing in the low glow of the lights. A cool breeze blew by her shoulders and chilled her. The temperature hadn't changed much since the sun had set and the performance had begun. The only difference between now and then was the fact that Chat Noir was no longer sitting close next to her.

X X X

"What was  _that_?" Therese demanded as she closed the door to hers and Angeline's shared dressing room. She couldn't keep the giant smile off of her face. Nor could she stop herself from running across the tiny room and throwing her arms around Angeline's shoulders. Outside Therese could hear their troupe mates chasing each other up and down the hall. They were enjoying another successful performance. Therese was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. Usually she pressured Angeline to hurry and change so that they could join the post show festivities. Tonight, though, she was to excited. Celebrating could wait. All she wanted to do was stand there and bask in how phenomenal their final dance with the Young Parisian Dance Company was.

"Therese!" gasped Angeline. Therese laughed brightly as she felt her partner tipped backwards, clinging to Therese's arms for dear life. Angeline pulled away and clutched at her chest. "Don't do that!" she admonished her as she spun around to face Therese.

"I've never seen you dance like that before darling. You were amazing! I nearly tripped over myself when I saw your change." Therese clapped her hands in the air. More laughter bubbled in her chest. "Oh, if you dance like that during our audition we'll be unstoppable!"

"Thank you cherie." Angeline murmured. "You were fantastic tonight too."

A beautiful pink tinge colored her cheeks. Therese stifled another giggle as Angeline ducked her face to hide it and pushed imaginary stray hairs out of her face. Therese grasped Angeline's hand. "We will take the audition by storm! All the world will adore us. Our dancing will inspire! No one will be able to move when they see us." she whispered as she laced her fingers through Angeline's hand.

A warm smile should've come next. Angeline should've laughed sweetly and agreed with her. If she was in a playful mood then she would have added something to Therese's flowery assertion. She should've melted into Therese's touch, wrapping her arms around her partner. There should've been some degree of feeling in her body. Some degree of warmth in her hand. There was none.

Angeline was stiff and unfeeling. Worst of all, she was cold.

"Angeline? What is it? What's wrong?" asked Therese. She gave Angeline's hand a supportive squeeze.

"I… I have something I need to tell you." whispered Angeline. Something cold stabbed through Therese's middle. She knew Angeline well enough to know that tone. It usually had nothing good associated with it. When Angeline spun about, pulled the dressing table's chair out, and gently sat her down, Therese  _definitely_  knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that this was not something good. Angeline slid down on to the ground to sit in front of Therese. She was still clinging to Therese's hand. "I cancelled my audition with the company Therese."

Therese's eyes went wide. Her jaw dropped. For a split second, her breath came short. She shook her head and found her tongue. "Why? Why would you go and do a silly thing like that?"

"Because I'm not going to dance anymore. At least not formally. Tonight was my last performance." answered Angeline.

"Please tell me you're joking!" Therese snapped as she pulled her hand away from Angeline. "Please tell me that this is a horrible joke and in two seconds you are going to laugh and say 'just kidding Therese!'"

Angeline bit her lip and slowly shook her head. "I'm not joking either Therese. I cancelled my audition yesterday."

"Yesterday!" Therese leaped out of the chair. It made a loud banging sound as it hit the table behind her. They had just been talking about how excited they were for the audition earlier that afternoon! "That's impossible! I… It doesn't matter. I'm sure if we call them right now and tell them there's been a mistake they will put you back on the schedule."

She clamored for her phone. Her fingers were poised over the screen and ready to dial when Angeline's hand shot out. "I didn't make a mistake Therese!" she told her, teeth grit in frustration. "I cancelled my audition because I'm going to university instead!"

"University? University! You never mentioned to me  _once_  that you wanted to go to university!"

"That's because I knew you'd react like  _this_!"

"Like what exactly?"

Angeline made a broad motion in the air with her hands in front of her. Therese curled her hand so tight around her phone that she could feel the ridges of the case pressing into her skin. "Angry! Upset! Disappointed! Take your pick. They all fit! All you've ever wanted to do since we were little is dance. That's fine and dandy for someone like you but someone like me… I don't have the option to. It isn't a feasible career choice for me."

"You are  _the_  best dancer I have ever seen!" Therese reminded her hotly.

"Not as good as you! I've  _never_  been as good as you! I will never be as good as you. You'll have a long career. I'd dance in the chorus for maybe a season or two but then someone else will come along. You'll move up and I'll get pushed to the side. Therese! That's just how things like this work."

Therese said nothing. What could she say? Angeline was being completely unreasonable. So she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and staring down Angeline icily.

Angeline gave a sigh. Her shoulders sank forward. Wordlessly, she moved past Therese for a drawer on her dressing table. Therese watched as Angeline opened the drawer and pulled out a stark white envelope. Printed on the front was a gold and burgundy lion. Angeline's rough tear stretched across the top. Clearly she'd been excited when she'd gotten it. Paper rustled paper and Angeline handed the letter inside to Therese. "They're giving me a full academic scholarship. They thought my essay comparing and contrasting Shakespeare's version of  _Romeo and Juliet_  to Tchaikovsky's was inspired." explained Angeline.

There was a slight smug smile on her face. Of course there was.  _Romeo and Juliet_  had been her favorite ballet they'd ever performed. Angeline lived and breathed it. Therese thought it was adorable. Her essay probably had been beautiful.

None of this mattered though as Therese looked over the letter.

"You didn't even talk to me about it." she said quietly. A terrible feeling wrapped around her chest. It was incredibly hard to breath. "Why didn't you discuss this with me? We're partners. We're supposed to talk about things like this and make decisions together."

"Because I knew you wouldn't like it." murmured Angeline. She wrung her hands together. The pained look on her face was hard to bear. "This is  _my_  life and  _my_  decision to make."

"You didn't trust me enough to tell me," Therese realized. The words came out as broken whisper.

"No! Therese! That isn't true!" Angeline insisted. She reached forward to take Therese's arms in her hand. However, Therese backed away from the touch. She couldn't handle it at the moment. Her entire world was shattering around her. Every carefully laid plan she'd ever made for her and Angeline was going up in smoke. Therese choked on it. Then something else ran through her mind.

If Angeline was leaving then…

"What about us? Where does this leave us?"

Angeline shifted. She opened her mouth with words half formed on her lips. After a moment though she closed her eyes. "I don't know."

"I hope you're very happy with your decision my pet." said Therese. She carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. Her hand shook as she set it back on to the dressing room table behind her. "I'm sure you'll do very well at University. You're very smart."

She turned on her heel and fled out the door. The slam it made and Angeline calling after her echoed hollowly down the hall after her. It was too hard to run in pointe shoes and her feet were always sore after big performances. Therese couldn't bare to have anyone, especially Angeline, see her cry though. She ducked into an abandoned room and locked the door behind her.

Darkness surrounded Therese, comforting her, as she slid to the ground with her back flat against the door. Her cries and sobs were buried in her knees. "It must hurt… knowing that the one you treasure most didn't trust you with such important information."

A voice brushed past her ear. Therese looked up, snapping her head around. "Who… who's in here?" she demanded as she fought back the heaving sobs to speak.

"She didn't even bother  _telling_  you that she was applying to University." continued the voice.

"I… I asked who's in here!"

"My name is Hawkmoth and I can feel just your pain and anguish." Whoever it was spoke like they had honey on their lips and silver in their tongue. It suddenly occurred to Therese that there was no one else in the room. It was just her and the voice was speaking in her head. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to care though. The voice was right.

"It does hurt." she admitted, nodding slowly.

"She should've trusted you to at least tell you that she had other plans. She should've told you sooner that she was going to cancel her audition."

"Why didn't she trust me? Why didn't she tell me sooner?"

Hawkmoth didn't answer her questions but he kept speaking, "Now she's going to be leaving you like everything you've been through is worth nothing."

"I don't want her to go. I want things to stay the same between us. I don't want our lives to change like this…"

"Let me help you," offered Hawkmoth. Therese's heart jolted in her chest. Hope welled in her chest. Pain felt pushed aside to a dull ache that she could manage. "I can give you the power you need to keep whoever you want by your side forever."

"You… you can do that?"

"For a price. Bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous and we'll consider the deal sealed."

To keep Angeline from leaving her. To keep Angeline from going off to University. To keep tonight from being Angeline's last performance ever…

"I'll do it." she answered, climbing to her feet. She could see the waves of inky darkness spinning around her feet. It didn't bother her at all though.

"Light up the stage Primadonna."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again with part 3! The action kind of picks up from here I think. The first two chapters of "Holding Out for a Hero" were so action packed in comparison to "Shatter Me." Hopefully no one fell asleep during the first two chapters here lol! Anywho! This is the lone, random sole Adrien POV chapter. I actually went back to chapter 1 after I wrote this chapter and added an Adrien perspective to it so that this chapter didn't seem to terribly out of left field! A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed. It means the world to me!

"Did Ladybug seem off to you tonight or was I seriously just imagining something?" Adrien asked Plagg as he checked around the corner.

"How should I know?" snorted Plagg. "I prefer my cheese over women. Speaking of cheese, just who exactly did you think you were mimicking with the whole squeaky, nasally voice bit? I sound nothing like that!"

"Speak for yourself." Adrien rolled his eyes. "But you noticed it too right? Ladybug acting kind of weird."

Plagg sighed melodramatically and threw his little head back in the air. "Yes she seemed weird. Are you happy now?"

"Very, thank you." Adrien told him. A large portion of him was grateful that he wasn't going crazy. "I wonder what was bothering her."

"Again I like cheese, not girls, but when she's ready to tell you Ladybug will tell you. You've been through this before." Plagg huffed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Can we please get this over before it gets too late? I'm tired and hungry."

"Can't eat when you're asleep Plagg." he reminded Plagg. Though, knowing Plagg it would be something he'd try to do anyways.

Adrien opened his button up shirt for Plagg to hide inside before doing up the buttons all the way. There wasn't much he could do to make his casual outfit look dressy but the least he could do was tuck the shirt into his jeans. He took a breath and stepped out from his hiding place.

The backstage area was an organized chaotic mess. Stage crew members tore down the set from the night's performance. There were already some back drop pieces that were ready to be loaded on to the truck to go back to storage. Some of the younger dancers were hovering with their well dressed parents off to the side, speaking to the instructors and choreographers. Other instructors talked with the older dancers. Adrien heard snatches of conversation as he passed them. A lot of it was critique. Where the dancers had struggled, how they could improve, and what they'd work on when lessons resumed. There were also a few regular people talking to some of the more premier instructors and the directors. The sponsors.

A huge wave of nostalgia hit him. He remembered being here with his mother. He remembered talking to some of the dancers. There was even a time when he was fairly young that a couple of the company boys had taught him how to do arabesques. Adrien had been mesmerized by how far those boys could raise their legs in the air. It was nearly a full 180 degrees! He wasn't as flexible but one of the instructors had seen him catching on pretty quickly. His mom had laughed a little when they'd asked him if he wanted to join the company and learn ballet. She'd said that they would have to talk about it. Dad had ultimately said no but it hadn't crushed Adrien.

"Young man!"

Adrien jumped at the harsh voice. He spun around. A security guard stood right behind him with his hands on his hips. Busted. "Do you have a backstage pass?"

"I… uh," stammered Adrien. He really should've planned for this. An embarrassed blush started creeping up his neck and face. "No. No I don't, but I… um… used to come here a lot with my mom when I was younger. I haven't been here in ages and I just wanted to say hi to some of the instructors and tell some of the dancers good job."

Wow! That sounded so lame to his ears. Inside his pocket he could feel Plagg laughing hysterically. The little jerk.

"Yeah, well you can't be back here without a pass." The guard moved to 'escort' him out. Maybe he should've just come as Chat Noir. Adrien doubted that the guard would've kicked  _him_ out.

"Adrien? Adrien Agreste?" a voice called over his shoulder. Adrien turned, knee jerk reaction. An older woman was making her way over to him. She was wearing the zip up coat that identified her as a dance instructor. A pang of familiarity pricked at his mind.

"Madame Millar!" Recognition suddenly hit him. His mom had talked to her a lot after shows. She'd always had some kind of candy in her pockets to give him. If he recalled correctly, it was also Mme. Millar who had introduced him to the boys in the company who'd taught him arabesques.

"It was always Marie to you little one." Mme. Millar told him fondly.

"You know this kid ma'am?" the security guard asked her.

"This young man's mother used to be one of our most generous supporters." Mme. Millar explained as she rested her hand on his shoulder. Adrien didn't remember there being so many spots and wrinkles on it. She'd gotten so old! Had his mother really disappeared that long ago? "It would be incredibly rude to throw the boy out. Don't you think?"

The security guard tipped his head. "My apologies ma'am."

Then the guard walked away without another word. Adrien smiled at Mme. Millar, "The show was awesome tonight. Just as great as I remember it being."

"It's been such a long time since we've seen you here. I always wondered how you were doing. You've really grown up." Mme. Millar told him. She gave his shoulder a squeeze before ushering him to mass of people that had congregated backstage.

He laughed a little, "Thanks. I hadn't realized how much I missed coming to these performances until the curtain went up tonight."

"We've missed seeing you too. We've missed your mother too. The director of the company still keeps a picture of her hanging on the sponsors' wall. She always loved dancing. It hasn't really been the same since her sponsorship ended."

Her voice trailed away as she looked out across a group of dancers that were all chatting together. A handful of them held second hand, raggedy duffle bags. The company was smaller. There were less dancers. A lot of the kids that had danced in the company when he was younger had been on scholarship. Sponsors like his mother helped to offset the cost of teaching them. Granted, her disappearing hadn't been the main cause for the evident lack of scholarship money, but it had contributed. Adrien chewed on his lip.

"Maybe… maybe I could ask Dad to make a donation, or maybe take a small sponsorship. Y'know, in her name." he suggested. It wasn't being asked for but it hurt to see the dancers that his mother had loved so much struggling to do what they loved. Mme. Millar gave him a genuinely shocked look.

"Oh Adrien, sweetheart that is incredibly kind of you. You do so remind me of your mother." whispered Mme. Millar.

Adrien flushed. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Don't mention it."

Mme. Millar patted him on the back before raising her hand to call attention to the group of dancers. "Ladies and gentleman! Come here. I have someone I'd like you all to meet." she shouted to them. She shot a kind glance at Adrien. "You did say that you wanted to praise the dancers didn't you."

Adrien nodded vigorously as the group came his way. Mme. Millar made the introductions, calling each dancer by name and telling him which act they had performed in. A couple of the girls knew who he was even before Mme. Millar told them who he was thanks to his modelling career. They were the ones who shoved their worn pointe shoes and permanent markers at him to autograph. Adrien was also pretty stoked that a couple of the dancers had performed in the "Infernal Dance" from  _Firebird_  that had been Ladybug's favorite. They'd been all too willing to autograph  _their_  shoes for him, especially when they found out it was for a girl he liked. All the dancers thanked him sincerely for his compliments and were eager to tell him how exciting it was for them knowing that they had just danced for Ladybug and Chat Noir.

He made a mental note to definitely ask his father to consider supporting the company once again and to invite Nino, Alya, and Marinette to the next performance. They would most likely really enjoy coming. He stamped down the idea of getting an extra ticket for the express purpose of inviting Marinette's 'friend' Felix. It was hard remembering Ladybug's advice.

Plagg tugged on the inside of his shirt, apparently ready to go home. In fairness, it was getting pretty late. He really did need to get home. "Thank you again for letting me come backstage," he told Mme. Millar before looking at the dancers, "You were all fantastic tonight. Really you were!"

"Come back and see us again soon." one of the girls told him as she shook his hand.

"Yeah and bring your lady friend." winked one of the guys, giving Adrien a slap on the side of the shoulder.

"If I can convince her." laughed Adrien.

"Angeline! Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Mme. Millar's dismayed voice caught his attention quickly.

Adrien immediately recognized the girl that was rushing towards them. Mainly because she was still wearing her gold and white costume that she'd worn on stage. It was the talented blonde haired graduating senior dancer that had danced the final act. Her flowy skirt trailed behind her as she ran. Her hair was still in it's tight bun and she still had on her thick stage makeup. However, it was obvious that she'd been crying. Mascara streaks ran down the side of her cheeks. "Please tell me that you've seen Therese." she begged, wringing her hands together and looking around at the crowd briefly.

"I'm so sorry Angeline. I haven't." Mme. Millar told her. A little frown crossed her face. "Are you two actually fighting?"

"I upset her and she ran off and now I can't find her and I need to apologize and I…" Angeline's voice was lost as she choked on her own lack of breath. She dissolved into a coughing fit. Mme. Millar separated herself from Adrien and patted Angeline on the back.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere. Have you tried looking for her in the bathrooms?" Mme. Millar asked.

Angeline nodded, "And the prop room. The costume room. The front lobby. The warm up room. The musical storage room."

She ticked the places off on her fingers as she named them off. The girl could speak a mile a minute. Adrien was impressed. "Maybe she went home?" one of the younger girls suggested helpfully.

"No, that isn't possible. She left everything in our dressing room. I've looked everywhere for her and I  _can't_  find her!" Angeline's eyes started to well up again.

"Alright, alright. Just calm down Angeline. We'll find her. Don't worry." Mme. Millar said as she wrapped her arms around Angeline's shoulders.

"Hey! This area is restricted! You need a pass to get back here!" shouted the security guard that had nearly thrown Adrien out on his ear. "Let me see your badge and I don't think your instructors will be happy to see you parading about in a costume that's not your's! What do you think this is? Some kind of dress up ga… Stop spinning and… "

His final word was cut off. A dark violet light lit up the dimly lit backstage area and the security guard screamed. "What on Earth?" gasped Mme. Millar as she jumped up.

Standing in the middle of the area was a beautiful dancer in a stunning classical black tutu embellished with purple and white rhinestones. Her dark brown hair was in a high ponytail with gentle waves curling around her neck and shoulders. Perched on her face was was black mask that was studded with the same jewels as her tutu. Adrien's heart leaped into his throat. There was a distinct butterfly shape to the mask. If that wasn't enough of a clue for him then the marble statue of the security guard made what was happening pretty darn clear.

A dead silence fell over the backstage. Everyone was too stunned to say anything. Then the quiet shattered like glass.

"Akuma! Run!" someone in the crowd yelled. Adrien's hero instincts took over. He grabbed the nearest dancer to him and shoved them hard in the direction of the doors.

People screamed in terror and ran for their lives. Without missing a beat, the akuma ballerina turned a sharp pirouette. She came out of it with her arms and leading foot pointed in the direction of the dancer Adrien had pushed towards the doors. Purple light flared. It nearly blinded Adrien. However, not nearly enough. He watched with horrifying clarity as the boy froze midstep, completely encased in unyielding, pristine, white marble. The boy's face was still contorted and a scream was still stuck in his throat. Adrien stumbled backwards. He could feel the color drain out of his face and the warmth bleed from his body. "Mon Dieu!" Adrien whispered, eyes wide.

"Nobody leaves!" she declared. The sweet, calming tone was definitely  _not_  what he'd expected to come out of the ballerina's mouth. He'd kind of held the expectation that she would shriek like a banshee. People were still running and trying to escape even as the akuma ballerina turned those fleeing into statues. "I am Primadonna and I am now in charge of this company. I say  _no one_  leaves!"

Welp! That wasn't exactly going to work for Adrien. Especially seeing as how he needed to hightail it out and let Chat Noir hightail it  _in_. Maybe if he was lucky Ladybug hadn't gone far yet. She might even be within hearing distance of the chaos!

Adrien turned on his heel. In front of him was one of the large set pieces that the stage crew had dismantled and set off to the side. Not the best place for a transformation but arguably not the worst he'd had to use. He split, racing for the set piece as he pushed through the panicked crowd. Adrien didn't even realize there was an instructor turned statue right in front of him until he found it with his nose. He yelped and staggered sideways as he pressed his hand to his throbbing nose. "Who am I kidding?" he muttered under his breath, "I am not that lucky!"

Nose still pulsing, Adrien peeled himself away from the statue and continued to sprint. His fingers fumbled blindly with the buttons on his over shirt as he pulled at it roughly. By the time he'd ducked behind the set piece Plagg was already flying out of his hiding place. "Just once I wish Hawkmoth would go to bed early." whined Plagg.

Adrien snorted, "Or just take an extended vacation to somewhere really cold. I hear Antarctica's a balmy negative one hundred and thirty degrees in some places."

"I was thinking some place much warmer." muttered Plagg.

"We'll give him the choice." Adrien promised. Someone close by screamed. Playtime and banter was over. "Plagg! Claws out!"

Chat Noir stepped out from behind the set piece. He took a really quick glancing count. About a third of the people who'd been backstage were now statues by his guesstimation. Not good. Not good at all! He already had his staff in hand to get to his communicator. Ladybug must have still been transformed because she answered on the second ring. "Chat, it hasn't been that long since we went our separate ways. I didn't think you were  _this_  needy." she told him in amusement.

"Like a fish needs water my lady." Chat Noir told her without thinking. He winced. Now was probably not the best time. "There's an akuma at the recital hall! She's turning everyone into statues."

There was a very brief silence on Ladybug's end. "Hang tight. I'm on my way back. Be careful!" she replied in a deadly serious voice.

"Hurry!" Chat Noir said. It kind of went without saying but he said it anyways. Neither he or Ladybug bid each other goodbye when he disconnected. Chat Noir shoved the communicator back into place and flicked his staff. It extended as he charged Primadonna. Not the smartest plan but she was currently grand jete-ing her way towards some unsuspecting sponsors that had taken refuge behind a small table.

"Don't be scared." Primadonna told them almost kindly. "Have you seen my belle Angeline?"

She dipped down elegantly in front of them. The sponsor gave a sob even as Primadonna reached out and caressed his face tenderly. The poor man shook his head vigorously, tearing it away from her hand. Primadonna only seemed mildly irritated. She gave a tired sigh and rose back to her full height gracefully. "Such a pity. I shall look for her elsewhere then. Now be good and stay where you are."

Her arm extended, hand glowing purple. Chat Noir swung his staff. The purple beam of light went wide and went shooting into the air, completely benign. Primadonna turned sharply, never losing her grace. "You really know how to rock a packed house mademoiselle." he joked lightly.

Nothing about his stance even remotely suggested he was joking. Every fiber of his being was pulled tight and waiting for the next move. Adrenaline sang through his veins.

"Chat Noir," Primadonna said, turning to face him. Chat Noir flipped his staff around into a horizontal block. The cornered sponsor took advantage of her distraction and ran. She didn't even seem to notice. Primadonna dipped a low curtsey to him. She rose and levelled her eyes on him. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My new patron tells me that you have something he wants. If you would be so kind as to hand your Miraculous over to me I would be very appreciative. I have other important things I must attend to."

"Your new patron being Hawkmoth I take it." Chat Noir replied conversationally. "Well… despite the fact that you're the single most polite akuma I've ever met, I'm afraid it's going to be a no from me."

"Such a shame. I really hoped to end this quickly." said Primadonna. Her hands came up into position in front of her her. Chat Noir braced himself for what was bound to come next. He just had to keep her busy enough until Ladybug showed up. It was a matter of playing around with her and distracting her from worrying about civilians. Primadonna slid her foot forward in preparation to move. Chat Noir redistributed his weight evenly on his feet. "We'll just have to do this the hard way then." she sighed.

"T… Therese?" a horrified voice stuttered. Primadonna whipped her head around that it was a pure miracle that she didn't pull a muscle. Angeline was standing off to her side, hands shaking and wide eyes. It looked as though she were fighting a losing battle to keep her mouth from hanging wide open. "Therese is… is that you?" Angeline whispered.

Primadonna frowned, clicking her tongue in admonishment. "Angeline my pet, my name is Primadonna and I'm very angry with you."

"Therese, I don't understand! What is going on? What happened to you?" Angeline demanded. Suddenly all her horror vanished. Pure and unadulterated anger replaced it. She stepped forward, raising one finger in the air threateningly. "Turn these people back Therese! Right now!"

Chat Noir looked between the two of them.  _Wasn't Primadonna asking those rich old coots she had cornered where Angeline was_ , Plagg asked in his head.

"Yeah," mumbled Chat Noir. Very slowly he started shifting his way closer to Primadonna. It was easier now that she only had eyes for Angeline. "Angeline was looking for her earlier. She told Mme. Millar that she'd said something to Therese to upset her."

_It kinda looks like she was looking for Angeline as well_.

Chat Noir nodded. He had a very bad feeling about this.

"I am Primadonna!" she snapped at Angeline. "I will keep these people here as they are forever. They will never leave me… just as you will never be able to leave me!"

Angeline covered her gasp with her shaking hands. It looked as though she'd just made some terrible realization judging by how quickly her face paled was any indication. Chat Noir wondered what it was. He hoped it wasn't just dawning on Angeline that her friend was a grade A psycho at the moment. That was pretty much obvious.

Primadonna rose up on pointe. Her delicate black satin shoes arched harshly. The line of her arm went hard and rigid. Her eyes narrowed as she looked straight at Angeline. Chat Noir swore under his breath and jumped forward, staff extended. Primadonna was already in motion though. Her pirouettes were just as pointed at the rest of her movements. Angeline stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet and falling on to her back. Fear flashed through her eyes. "Therese, please! Don't do this." she begged, reaching out to Primadonna seconds before her pirouetting ended.

Chat Noir kind of screwed up her landing. Okay, so he completely obliterated it. As Primadonna went to do some kind of crazy, pointing arabesque towards Angeline, he stuck his staff right underneath her feet. The little surprised screech that Primadonna made out was not something he anticipated. Nor was the way she landed on the ground with her feet stuck straight up in the air. Both he and Angeline stared at her with open mouths. "You really don't have to gravel." he said without much thought.

"Oh my God," Angeline murmured, "you just tried to turn me into a statue!"

"Statues can't leave." Primadonna answered simply as she climbed to her feet fluidly. It was like she hadn't even fallen in the first place. "You can't leave if you're a statue."

Primadonna's arms rose again. Chat Noir lunged in front of her, putting himself in between her and Angeline. Chat Noir had been right. This was very bad. He didn't see any possible way that this could end well. "Run!" he yelled over his shoulder, "Run! She's after you!"

"But…" Angeline started to say. Hesitation didn't seem to even come close to describing what he heard in her voice. He could literally feel her looking straight at Primadonna.

"Go!" Chat Noir shouted again.

"I… I can't just leave her!" Angeline told him desperately. She meant it too. Chat Noir grit his teeth. The last person who hadn't ran when he'd told her too had been kidnapped by an akuma. That had been Marinette. Now Angeline was going to end up becoming a statue if she stayed. Fine! If she wouldn't leave that was fine.

"Mademoiselle you're putting me between a rock and a hard place." Chat Noir said to Angeline. He threw a feral smile at Primadonna. For a tense second, no one moved. No one, not even Primadonna, breathed. Silence stretched out to the point where if a pin dropped they'd all be able to hear it. "Looks like I'll just have to take matters into my own hand then!" Chat Noir shrugged.

He pressed a button on the side of his staff. With as much force as he could muster, he threw it directly at Primadonna. Angeline cried out in warning. Chat Noir's ears were deaf to it. He heard Primadonna gasp in shock as his staff split into two and whiz past her. Chat Noir wrapped his arms around Angeline and pulled her close to his chest. If she didn't want to run to safety when an anger driven akuma was after her that was fine. He would just do the running  _for_  her! He wasn't about to let history repeat itself!

Primadonna livid screech was interrupted by a hard, resounding smack as Chat Noir's split staff circled back around on it's boomerang course and collided straight into her. He turned right in time to see his staff come back together and Primadonna nursing her probably bruising wrist. Chat Noir didn't waste much more time on it. He caught his staff and extended it to pole vault to the nearest roof.

Angeline yelled in his ear the entire time while Primadonna screamed at him below.


	4. Chapter 4

The police had completely blocked off the recital hall. Flashes of light went off as photographers snapped picture after picture of the handful of white marble statues that stood on the sidewalk. Paramedics were desperately trying to console frantic civilians. Ladybug felt an iron weight drop into the pit of her stomach as she flew past the pandemonium below her. It was nothing in comparison to the feeling she got when she landed on the roof that overlooked the backstage area. "There's so many of them." she whispered.

Ladybug jumped to the ground. Her hand, however, was still wrapped tight around her weapon. There was absolutely no sign of the akuma. She didn't know if she was grateful for that or extremely worried. A silently screaming statue made her shiver. Okay, she was mostly worried. Ladybug had no idea just how many people had been backstage when the akuma attacked. Going from the number of statues though, there must have been more than a handful. They all looked like they'd been running for the door when the akuma had gone after them. "The akuma had to have been really fast to get to so many people so quickly." Ladybug said as she inspected another statue.

There were statues ranging from older adults to little children. Ladybug nearly stumbled over one statue that had clearly been one of the youngest dancers of the company. The little girl still had her dance bag on her shoulder and her hair in a bun. Standing a few steps behind her was an older man with his hand outstretched towards her. A father and daughter maybe? Ladybug felt sour taste creeping into her throat. It broke her heart. How could  _anyone_  do this? And to so many people? And why had the akuma slowed down after he or she had gotten outside the recital hall? Those police barriers hadn't magically popped out of the ground. It had taken time to erect them. The akuma  _had_ to have seen the police, paramedics, reporters, and the rest of the civilians so why had the akuma let them go? More importantly, where was Chat Noir.

Ladybug couldn't help but notice that Chat Noir wasn't among the statue garden. He would've been easy to spot with his ears and tail. Not to mention the fact that he probably would've been in some defensive position as though he'd been trying to protect fleeing civilians. Chat Noir wasn't there though. She thanked God for that. However, the question of the hour was where was Chat Noir. For some reason she had this horrible thought that he was part of the reason the akuma had completely ignored the people outside of the recital hall. Which brought her to her next question…

Where was the akuma now?

So many things were rolling through her brain. Her hands were shaking as she tried not to let her thoughts overtake her. She needed to keep a clear mind to get to the bottom of the situation. She couldn't let herself get worked up. Ladybug couldn't think about the possibility that Chat Noir might be a statue somewhere in the middle of Paris because the akuma had tracked him down. Needless to say the whole 'don't freak out' thing wasn't working.

Ladybug swallowed the bile in her throat and flipped open her communicator. "C'mon Chat… pick up…" she whispered as the line rang. "Pick up!"

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir's relieved voice cut her own anxiety in half. He wasn't a kitty statue. "Where are you?"

"At the recital hall staring at Paris's newest art exhibit." she said dryly.

Chat Noir hissed on his end, "Primadonna's the artist. Ballerina akuma, really graceful dancer. Easily the politest akuma to ever cross my path."

"Wonderful." mumbled Ladybug as she ran her hand through her hair. Already she had theories rolling through her brain as to why there was a ballerina terrorizing Paris at the moment. Jealous of another dancer. Angry she'd been passed over for a solo. Hurt over a criticism she'd gotten. Any number of reasons that Ladybug couldn't pin down because she hadn't met Primadonna yet. "You're okay right? You're safe?"

"For the time being." Chat Noir answered. Her guard instantly went up. No usual flirty remark? No banter? Where was the predictable quip that went along the lines of, 'oh my lady is worried about little ole me?' Something was definitely up.

"Is Primadonna chasing you? There's fewer statues outside the hall than in."

"Eh… That's probably a safe bet." Chat Noir said and Ladybug could picture him waving his hands through the air as he said it. His tone only made Ladybug more concerned.

"Usual modus operandi of wanting your Miraculous?"

"Well, um… I imagine that's part of the reason." Chat Noir's voice trailed away.

"Chat Noir," Ladybug growled, "what did you do?"

"Fun story." he replied. Ladybug groaned. She could hear guilt in his voice. The guy might as well have been laughing nervously. Whenever he started a story with the terms 'fun story' it was not, in fact, a fun story.

Fun story Ladybug: I seemed to have gotten my hand stuck in the sticky gunk the akuma was slinging.

Fun story Ladybug: My head is stuck between the bars at the Louvre.

Fun story Ladybug: I broke that judge's expensive antique vase from a gajillion years B.C. after you used Miraculous Ladybug.

Ladybug resisted the urge to beat her forehead with the heel of her palm. He hadn't told her exactly what he'd done yet. Maybe it wasn't all that bad. She took a deep, steadying breath before asking, "What happened?"

Crash!

All hope Ladybug had about the predicament died.

"What was that?"

"Uh…" was Chat Noir's oh-so-eloquent response.

"If you would  _please_  just let me talk to her, I can…" a girl's voice desperately begged. Ladybug blinked in surprise. Chat Noir was busy saying something to the girl on his end so fast that Ladybug missed it in her momentary confusion.

"Who is that?"

"Listen, Ladybug, I might or might not have sort of, kind of, y'know kidnapped the akuma's target." answered Chat Noir.

"Kidnapped?" repeated Ladybug.

"Yeah. Kidnapped her… against her will."

Ladybug snorted and slammed the heel of her palm into her forehead. "Against her will? I didn't realize you could kidnap someone any other way!"

"I had no choice!" he whined.

"I could've sworn I told you not do anything reckless!"

"Technically you told me to be careful!" he quipped. No wonder Primadonna had spared so many people outside. She'd been too preoccupied with chasing after Chat Noir. She must have been ticked!

Ladybug shook her head to chase away the thoughts. She had to focus. "Where are you now?" Ladybug asked.

"At the dance company's rehearsal studio. I'll send you the address."

"Are you sure that's a safe place?"

"It was the only place I could convince Primadonna's target to come to."

"Great," sighed Ladybug. "Send me the details. I'll be there as soon as I can and we'll figure out a plan to find and stop Primadonna."

"Preferably before she turns all of Paris in a statue garden." Chat Noir agreed.

Ladybug bit her lip as she disconnected. As promised, the address came through a half a minute later. She could be there in ten minutes. Chat Noir was right. Primadonna had turned dozens of people into statues before Chat Noir had taken off with the girl who'd been responsible for getting her akumatized. How many more people would she do the same to before Primadonna got her hands on the Miraculous and her preferred victim? "Let's hope we don't have to find out." Ladybug murmured as she slung her weapon on to the nearest roof.

X X X

There was an open window on the second floor of the studio that Ladybug simply assumed that was where Chat Noir had entered. She couldn't tell for sure though because the studio was pitch black. However, the moment she slipped her weapon back on to her side a light flipped on and startled her. She jerked sideways, losing her footing on her precarious perch. A hand shot out from the inside, wrapping around her wrist and pulling her into safety. "Easy my lady. It's  _purr_ etty long way down."

"Right now? With the puns? Really?" sighed Ladybug. Chat Noir just gave her his trademark grin as he helped her into the building. It wasn't hand holding but it was close enough for the moment. Wait! Now wasn't the time! Definitely  _not_  a good time.

"You should've heard the rock ones he started shooting off at the recital hall." came an unimpressed voice. The same one from the phone call.

Ladybug recognized her and gasped, "You're one of the graduating seniors! You were so beautiful!"

Chat Noir spun about to look at the girl before spinning back around to look at Ladybug. "Ladybug, I'd like you to meet Angeline. Angeline, this is Ladybug."

"Are you alright?" Ladybug asked. She gave Angeline a quick up and down glance. The poor girl looked like she was having a rough night. Her hair was definitely tangled and her face was a little on the red side from flying through the wind. She was wearing a pair of leggings and a thick sweater. However as Angeline crossed her arms over her chest, Ladybug saw her pressing her recital costume to her chest. The outfit was so dirty and tattered that it was hard to tell.

"I'm fine." she murmured. "Thank you for asking."

"I know it's scary to be the target of an akuma but I promise nothing is going to happen to you. Chat Noir and I might be young but we're experienced."

"Believe it or not, I'm not actually worried about myself." Angeline said.

Ladybug tried hard to hide her confusion. It didn't work. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Angeline knows Primadonna. She's friends with her." Chat Noir stepped up to Ladybug's side and waved his hand towards Angeline. Ladybug wondered if 'friends' was a loose term. Angeline's face was unreadable as she shifted from side to side. Chat Noir cleared his throat. "Here. Let's get away from the windows and talk somewhere we won't be seen from the outside."

He took Ladybug's elbow and waved towards the open door. Angeline nodded submissively and lead the way through the deserted dance studio. Chat Noir flipped the light switch off as they passed through the door. The room that Angeline took them to was a smaller interior waiting room. There were pictures on the walls of former company members of all ages along with little plaques that had their names. Chat Noir closed the door after them as Angeline collapsed into a chair. Ladybug's sympathy for her spiked. The girl crumpled forward and buried her face in her ruined costume.

"Chat says you know Primadonna." Ladybug said gently. She kneeled by Angeline and placed her hand on the older girl's knee. Any way that Ladybug could convey her support. Angeline looked up at her.

"Her name is Therese." she said firmly. Ladybug didn't mention that Primadonna wasn't going to agree with that. "She is very dear to me and I…"

Angeline broke off. Her fingers twisted deeper into her costume. Chat Noir sat down in the chair next to her and rested his hand on her back. "It's okay." he told her soothingly.

"No, it really isn't." sighed Angeline. She released the costume. The fabric slid off her knees and on to the ground into a pool in front of her. "This is all my fault. She's angry with me and for good reason! If I hadn't of upset her none of this never would've happened! I hurt her feelings in the worst imaginable way possible. If you two would please let me go find her and talk to her… I can make her see reason!"

"Angeline I told you that we can't let you do that!" Chat Noir groaned in exasperation. "Did you forget how Primadonna didn't even blink when she went to turn you into the next piece of her statue collection?"

"Why is she so upset with you? What happened?" Ladybug asked, drawing Angeline's attention to her.

Angeline heaved a sigh as she sat back in her chair. "You need to understand something. Therese has dreamed of dancing together professionally since we were little kids. Everything she's done has been to boost our chances of being accepted. The thing is, though, Therese has always had… things that I  _haven't_."

Realization immediately spread across Chat Noir's face. "You're a scholarship dancer, aren't you?"

Ladybug held back a wince at his blunt, matter of fact tone. However, Angeline didn't seem offended at all. She simply nodded in agreement. "And Therese isn't. A lot of people don't realize just how expensive it is to be a dancer especially at our level. We take lessons five or six days a week for an hour and a half. My scholarship pays for them now but once I graduate from the company… well the scholarships go away. I would drown in bills for lessons. Dancing professionally isn't a feasible option for me."

She paused, staring at her hands for a moment before looking up again. There were tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Angeline wiped them away before continuing, "University though… I'm smart. Like really smart. I got a full academic scholarship to the university of my choice. I got in and I cancelled my audition for the professional troupe. Without telling Therese."

This time Ladybug couldn't hold back her wince. Chat Noir was wincing too. She understood now. There was a look on Angeline's face though that made her pause. She was chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

"There's more isn't there?" guessed Ladybug.

"I basically told her that I didn't trust her enough to tell her my plans and that I just assumed she'd be upset about them." explained Angeline, "Then, as if  _that_  wasn't bad enough, I told her that I didn't know what was going to happen to us. To our relationship. That was what sent her running."

Chat Noir suddenly went rigid. His jaw clenched shut and it looked like he was having trouble swallowing. He looked like he was going through a human version of the blue screen of death. Ladybug was half expecting an error message to pop up over the top of his head. She reached over and smacked him on the leg to get his attention again. He snapped out of it really quickly. "That… that would be… yeah." he said, attempting to put something helpful out into the air.

"Thank you for telling us. Knowing why a person was akumatized really helps us sometimes." Ladybug smiled at Angeline. The way Angeline stared at her with tight pressed lips and furrowed brow didn't suggest a lot of confidence in the sentiment. So much for trying to make her feel a little better about the situation.

"Ladybug…" Angeline said slowly, looking straight at her. Then she turned to look directly at Chat Noir, "Chat Noir… please, when you find Therese don't hurt her."

"Don't worry. We're totally pros at this!" Chat Noir grasped her hand tightly. "Leave everything to us. We've got this in the bag!"

The peppy-ness in his voice might have been more effective had he not lost balance and fell out of his chair. Angeline and Ladybug jumped sideways to avoid him. Chat Noir let out a disgruntled moan and kind of laid on the ground with his nose smashed up against the carpet. Angeline looked at him with wide eyes before turning to Ladybug for answers. Which, unfortunately, Ladybug had yet to figure out. "Give Chat Noir and I a moment okay." she told her with a weak smile.

Ladybug grabbed Chat Noir under the collar and hauled him up. He made a little gagging noise as she pulled him towards the doorway where the could talk in private. "What's the plan Ladybug?" he asked.

"Still working on it." she sighed, running her hand through her hair. "We have to figure out a way to track down Primadonna though. Any idea where she could be?"

"Zilch." Chat Noir answered.

"Fantastic…"

"Do you think Angeline could shed some light on that?"

"Who knows but I don't want to stress her out anymore. What about the possessed item? Any idea what the akuma infected?" Ladybug asked. "You're the one who saw her Chat. You're all I've got right now."

Chat Noir's faux cat ears flattened against his head. That was answer enough for her.

"Her shoes." Angeline said from  _right beside them_.

Ladybug let out a shriek and fell backwards. Her arms pinwheeled through the air gracelessly. She slammed right into Chat Noir's chest. His arms instantly closed across her chest, keeping her from falling any farther and holding her protectively. Angeline must have startled him too because Ladybug could feel his heart hammering against his chest. Needless to say neither one had been expecting Angeline to follow them. It didn't appear as though Angeline was too embarrassed for making them jump out of their skin. "Her shoes," she repeated with a thoughtful look on her face. "She was still wearing them when we fought. I bet you they're possessed."

"Why do you say that?" Chat Noir asked. The fast but steady rhythm of his heartbeat disappeared as he slowly pushed Ladybug back on to her feet. His fingers were still wrapped around her forearms though just in case though.

"Therese sewed a new pair of pointe shoes for today. They were already starting to die on her though right before we performed at the recital. She was incredibly irritated with the fact that she couldn't grab a new pair before she went on. Therese made it through the show no problem of course but her shoes were pretty much gone. She shouldn't be able to dance in them as much as she has…"

"She did turn a lot of people into statues." mumbled Chat Noir.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by dead? They're shoes, inanimate objects." Ladybug pointed out in utter confusion.

Angeline shook her head, "Pointe shoes are really stiff in order to support the dancer while she's on pointe. Once that stiffness starts to go though…"

"The shoe is useless." Chat Noir picked up. "Which reminds me… I had a couple dancers sign their shoes for you and I lost them. Crap! Sorry."

Her face felt very warm all of a sudden. He'd gotten her a souvenir? That was incredibly sweet of him. Also! Not the best time to be thinking about it! Or thinking about the way his hands were still on her arms. Nope! Not a good time at all. She made a pointed effort not to look over her shoulder at him as she extracted herself from his hands. If her face was red, Angeline was kind enough to not draw attention to it. However, she did sort of duck her eyes a bit towards her feet before saying, "Dancers go through a lot of shoes. Yet another reason why dancing isn't financially feasible for me. Therese's weren't to the point where she could bend them in half yet but they weren't far off from it."

Ladybug scrunched her nose up as she thought about the information. "Are we sure it isn't just the magic of the transformation?"

"I mean that's a possibility too but I'd rather be an optimist if you know what I mean." shrugged Chat Noir. With Angeline staring at them expectantly, Ladybug simply nodded. She'd have to wait until she saw Primadonna herself to decide. Which brought up their next problem.

"Any idea where Primadonna could be?" asked Ladybug. Chat Noir started to look at Angeline. Ladybug kicked him in the shin. Angeline didn't need them staring at her like she had all the answers to their problems.

"I'm… I'm not sure," whispered Angeline as she crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. We'll find her." Chat Noir assured her, smiling and subtly rubbing his shin against his calf.

The cheery beeps of someone's phone cut through the air. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir forgot that they were in costume and instinctively pressed their hands to their hips in search of their phones. Angeline spun around gracefully and rushed to the chair she'd been sitting in. "Sorry," she told them as she picked up her phone. "Give me a moment please."

Chat Noir nudged her in the side with his elbow. "Um… where exactly was she hiding that?"

"Chat Noir!" she groaned, facepalming.

"I'm being serious!" He threw his hands in the air.

"Do you  _really_  want to know?" Ladybug sighed. Chat Noir didn't get a chance to answer though.

"Hello?" Angeline said as she answered the call. Her face was twisted up in confusion while she waited for who must have been a stranger was calling to reply. Chat Noir opened his mouth to say something. A gasp tore from Angeline's mouth before he had a chance to say what he wanted. Her knuckles were stark white as she clutched her phone with both hands like it was a lifeline. "T… Therese!"

Primadonna!

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. They darted to Angeline's side. She looked like she was in danger of collapsing. Ladybug couldn't blame her. Chat Noir caught Angeline as she swayed on her feet. "Therese! Yes, of course it's me. Who else would it be? Where are you? I'm worried sick!" demanded Angeline.

Ladybug was close enough now to feel her shaking. "No! I will  _not_  call you Primadonna!"

Ladybug caught Chat Noir's eye and nodded towards the phone. He tilted his head slightly in understanding. This was the first time they'd heard from Primadonna since she'd disappeared from the recital hall and the sea of statues she'd left in her wake. With her call to Angeline, Primadonna could give them vital information on how to find and stop her. Chat Noir tapped Angeline on the shoulder. "Put it on speaker." Ladybug urged.

Angeline hesitated. However, she lowered the phone and pressed a button. A sweet, gentle voice floated through the room. "Chat Noir didn't hurt you did he? I saw how rough he treated you." cooed Primadonna.

"I was not rough!" hissed Chat Noir, waving his hands wildly in the air. Angeline waved him off irritatedly. Ladybug however was trying to pick her jaw up off the ground. That was  _not_  the voice she expected to hear from an akuma. She'd nearly asked Chat Noir if that was actually Primadonna's voice.

"Yes I'm fine. No Chat Noir didn't hurt me. Where are you?" asked Angeline. Her face softened and her grip relaxed on her phone.

"Remember when we first met?" Primadonna asked her lightly.

Angeline shook her head, "What are you going on about?"

"We were so little. I thought your arms were like tree trunks. I called you ox-arms."

"If I recall correctly I called you snake arms because you never really knew where they were supposed to go."

"It took us so long to finally get to the point where we could do proper splits and plies. Do you understand what I mean now?" repeated Primadonna.

"Yes, I think I get it now." murmured Angeline.

"What does she mean?" Chat Noir whispered. The confusion was clear on his face. Ladybug pressed her finger to her lips. His mouth snapped shut.

"Therese, you have to stop this. Let Ladybug and Chat Noir help you." Angeline begged.

"Why? So you can leave me? Like you've been planning too? You want to abandon me darling." Primadonna said, sadly.

"Therese I'm so sorry. I… I made a terrible mistake and I hurt you and… Please just come back so we can talk about this. Let's work this out."

The other line went dead silent. They couldn't even hear breathing. "My name is Primadonna."

Primadonna's voice was ice cold. Angeline visibly flinched. Ladybug placed her hand on Angeline's arm. "I refuse to call you that." she whispered harshly.

"Very well. I'm going to tell you what do Angeline, my pet, you're going to come to where it all began for us. You can't leave me.  _I won't let you_." Primadonna hissed. Ladybug and Chat Noir shifted. She felt like her breathing was shallow and her heart was about to come out of her chest.

"And if I don't?" asked Angeline. She set her jaw and grit her teeth.

"Well that will depend on whether or not  _anyone_  shows up." Primadonna told her in a clipped tone.

Ladybug felt the color drain out of her face. She didn't like the sound of that. Angeline's phone was trembling uncontrollably now. "What do you mean by that?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not a fool Angeline. Chat Noir spirited you away which means he's probably still with you and everyone knows that wherever that silly kitty goes, Ladybug isn't far behind. It wouldn't even surprise me if you were standing next to them this very moment. You have me on speakerphone right now, don't you Angeline?"

Ladybug's jaw dropped. Chat Noir made some sort of strangled noise in the back of his throat and then promptly tried to cover it up by throwing his hands over his mouth. Too late though. Primadonna laughed on the other end of the phone. So much for any advantage they thought they might get from listening to Angeline and Primadonna's conversation. "That's exactly what I thought." Primadonna said still laughing.

A heavy silence fell over them. Chat Noir was looking at her expectantly, waiting to follow her lead. At the moment though, Ladybug was at a loss. She had nothing.

"Here's what's going to happen. I'll give you or Ladybug and Chat Noir an hour and a half to meet me. They have something that my patron desperately wants and I know that they will balk at the idea of you coming to me." Primadonna explained. She said it as though she were talking about something so simple, as if demanding handing yourself over to a Supervillain was as common as running to the store for milk. "If neither of you show up then I'm going to go to the Eiffel Tower. There are quite a few tourists out tonight that I think would love to stay in the city of lights forever."

"No!" gasped Chat Noir in horror as Ladybug yelled, "Don't you dare!"

"I knew the heroes of Paris wouldn't stand for that. Neither will you Angeline. I know you too well. You will come, if only to keep other people from getting hurt because of you." Primadonna was smirking. Ladybug could feel it!

"Therese! I know you too and I  _know_  that this isn't you! You're sweet and kind and sensitive and you definitely don't run around Paris turning people into statues. Why are you doing this?" Angeline cried. Tears ran down her cheeks.

"You want to leave me." came Primadonna's hushed and broken response. "We've always been together and I don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me. I promise." Angeline told her emphatically. She was practically on her knees begging.

"I know I won't lose you…" Primadonna said. "Statues can't leave."

"Therese, you won't do it!" shot Angeline in challenge.

"My name, pet, is Primadonna now and how exactly do you think I got this phone?" she questioned. Then there was a click and the line went dead. Angeline dropped her phone. The case cracked as it hit the ground.

"Oh God!" moaned Angeline, slumping forward.

"Easy!" Chat Noir called out. Ladybug just barely managed to jump forward and grab Angeline under the arms. It took both her and Chat Noir to ease her to the ground though. Her sobs filled the small room.

"We'll stop her. Don't worry. We won't let her hurt anyone else." Ladybug murmured soothingly in her ear as she hugged Angeline tightly.

"This… is… all… my fault!" Angeline choked out in between her labored gasps for breath. She said something else but it was lost in her crying. Angeline pulled herself together long enough to push herself to her feet. "I have to stop her, before she does anything that I know she'll regret."

"No!" Ladybug told her firmly. "You're going to stay  _here_!"

"Ladybug and I will take care of this. It's too dangerous for you. She'll marble-ify you if she sees you." Chat Noir said.

For a moment, Ladybug was certain that Angeline was going to argue some more. She could see it on her face. Angeline was desperate to save her friend. Truly scared for Primadonna and Ladybug couldn't blame her. If it were Chat Noir in Primadonna's position then Ladybug would've been just as desperate. She would willingly walk into Hawkmoth's lair to save Chat Noir. "We promise… we'll bring her back to you safe and sound again."

Angeline opened her mouth to argue. However, she closed it again. She pressed her eyes shut and let the last few tears slide down her face. "I trust you." she said as she nodded slowly.

Ladybug breathed a sigh relief. Back to where it all began. The statue garden of patrons, dancers, and instructors that had littered the recital hall's backstage area came instantly to her mind. That had to be where she was! "Let's get back to the recital hall before Primadonna's timer is up. We'll come up with a plan on the way there Chat." Ladybug turned for the door, waving for Chat to follow her. He gave a nod, face blazing with determination, and hurried to her side.

"Right!" agreed Chat Noir with a broad grin.

"Wait!" called Angeline, "Not the recital hall! I think she means where we first met when we were five."

"How can you be so sure?" Chat Noir asked, frowning a bit in confusion.

"Why else would she mention our past otherwise? She has to mean Premiere Danse Academie."

Ladybug couldn't help it. Her skepticism was evident. Chat Noir clearly shared it when he caught her glance. Angeline huffed and pulled a magazine out of a rack before crossing the room to grab a pen off of another table. She tore a page out of the magazine, scribbled something on the page, and marched over to Ladybug. On the scrap of paper was an address. "It still in business. I give lessons there once a week. If you don't believe then I'll go looking for her myself."

"No, no." Ladybug said quickly.

"We'll check it out." Chat Noir jumped in just as quickly. He took the scrap paper and started to type the address into the gps on his staff.

"Thank you." breathed Angeline.

"Got it! Let's go my lady!" Chat Noir grinned and patted Ladybug's shoulder before disappearing from the room.

"Right behind you." she nodded. Angeline's hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist.

"Ladybug, wait!"

Ladybug turned. She looked so broken and lost. "When you… you purify Therese's akuma please tell her that I'm so, so sorry that I broke her heart. I should've told her that I didn't want to audition and that I wanted to go to university. I didn't trust her and I should have. I was just so afraid of our relationship  _changing_  that I didn't say anything."

Something clicked in Ladybug's mind. She felt like her breath was pulled from her lungs. It was striking just how much Angeline's heartrending words resonated with her. A changing relationship? That sounded incredibly familiar to her ears. It had only been hours ago that she'd thought about the same thing in regards to her relationship with Chat Noir. Ladybug's throat closed up. She couldn't speak. She was absolutely speechless.

"I didn't want us to change but now, because of my stupidity, I might have completely  _shattered_  our relationship instead."

Chat Noir was sweet. He was kind. He was foolish and brash but incredibly protective. Ladybug could alway count on him to have her back, even when she was simply Marinette. He was charming if not a little dorky. His puns were borderline atrocious that he deserved to be smacked for more often than not. However, he never crossed the line between goofy playfulness and uncomfortably inappropriate. Chat Noir had never once pushed her for anything that she wasn't willing to give. So many of the qualities that Ladybug adored and loved in Adrien were traits that Chat Noir had too. However, unlike Adrien, Chat Noir actually liked her in the romantic sense and Ladybug was so, so, so fond of Chat Noir.

But she was so afraid of ruining of what she had with him. Of telling him who she was and taking the next step. Of exploring a different kind of relationship with him. Would it really change anything if Chat Noir knew she was Marinette, clumsy and klutzy Marinette, under the mask? Did she really think that he would view her differently? A small voice in the back of Ladybug's mind whispered it was possible in a nasty tone. There was another small voice that said, "trust him." Trust Chat Noir.

"Please will you tell her that?" begged Angeline.

"Ladybug! Are you coming? We've got to go!" Chat Noir called to her as he poked his head back into the room. Ladybug jumped and felt herself turn crimson from ear to ear.

"Yes! I'm coming!" Ladybug squeaked. She turned to Angeline, "I'll tell her."

She spun on her heel, grabbed her weapon, and followed Chat Noir out the window. Her heart thumping rapidly in her chest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! We're in the homeward stretch now! Just two more chapters after this. Please be patient with me. Next week I'm on vacation so I won't be able to upload to either AO3 or FF.net until Sunday or Monday.

The Premiere Danse Academie was just as dark as the studio Ladybug and Chat Noir had come from. Ladybug planted her hands on the front window and pressed her face up against it. "Any movement?" whispered Chat Noir as he came up beside her, cupped his eyes with his hands, and peered through the window.

"I can't tell. You're the one with night vision. Do you see anything?" Ladybug asked.

She gave him a sideways glance. His nose was scrunched up in concentration. His faux cat ears were perked forward as he listened intently for any misplaced sound. Ladybug cast a look over her shoulder. There were no statues on the sidewalk. They'd found one a block away from the studio with a shattered phone at it's base. Ladybug's tongue had turned to lead when she'd seen it. Primadonna's handiwork obviously. Other than that, though, she and Chat Noir, had no idea if they were on the right trail.

"I don't see anything. Just some dance barres, mirrors, and the usual dance studio type stuff. Do you think we should head to the recital hall?"

Ladybug tapped her chin thoughtfully, "How much time do we have left before Primadonna heads to the Eiffel Tower?"

"An hour." Chat Noir said, checking the time on his staff. Ladybug winced.

"That's not much time but Angeline seemed certain that Primadonna would be here. Not to mention the statue we found on the way here…"

"Primadonna could've used one of the side streets to get back around to the recital hall. It would've taken her in a longer, roundabout way but it's still possible."

A blip of green light came to life in the studio. Ladybug jumped a little, startled, but Chat Noir let out a full blown yelp. He grabbed Ladybug by the shoulders and hauled her back behind him, hissing and spitting the entire way. "Easy Kitty." Ladybug said.

"It startled me. It just came  _on_." muttered Chat Noir. His hands curled and uncurled tensely. His jaw tightened as he said quietly, "I hear music."

The green light was coming from a stereo in the back corner of the room. It showed the track number and timing of whatever CD was currently in the player. Ladybug could hear the soft, muffled sound of a haunting melody tinkling through the air. There was no one any where close from what she could tell. That meant someone had probably turned the stereo on remotely. Angeline had apparently been right. Primadonna had come to the Premiere Danse Academie. "I vote we check it out. I have a feeling about this place." she told Chat Noir, stepping out from behind him.

Tension ran through his shoulders as he nodded in agreement, "I second that vote."

He followed Ladybug to the door. The handle turned easily when she tried it. "I'm not sure if this a  _good_ sign or something that should be sending massive red flags up in the air."

"Why can't it be both?" asked Ladybug.

"Fair enough." he said.

"I'm getting 'it's a trap' vibes all over the place."

"Unfortunately there's no back entrance to these buildings. If this is where Primadonna has chosen to lay low then she chose a good place."

"Practically guarantees that we'll follow whatever path she's laid out for us."

"Joyous fun. Let me go first. I've got the better senses in the dark and I'd rather it be me walking right into a trap than you."

Chat Noir moved past her, reaching for the door handle. Ladybug's hand snapped out and snagged his wrist. He stopped dead in his tracks to twist around and look at her with wide eyes. Ladybug felt herself turning pink. She hadn't realized that she'd moved that fast and was holding his arm so tightly. She dropped it just as quickly as she had grabbed it. The confusion didn't leave Chat Noir's face. "I don't want you walking into a trap either!" she told him fiercely.

"My lady," Chat Noir was giving her an up and down glance. Ladybug could feel it. "Are you okay? You've been acting a little weird all night. First with the freaked out looks at the recital and then on the way here you were jumpier than a cricket. Am I doing something wrong? Because if I am, please tell me so I can stop."

"No!" Ladybug gasped, face paling. "No, you're fine. It's… it's just me is all. I swear."

"If I've done something…" Chat Noir started urgently.

Ladybug shook her head vigorously. His mouth clamped shut. "Chat, it's not that. I'm just being dumb is all."

"Are you sure?" pressed Chat Noir. "The last thing I want…"

"It's me. I'll… I'll tell you why later. Right now we don't have time."

"Okay."

Ladybug gave a relieved sighed and tried very hard not to think about the implication of her last statement to him. "How about we go together so if it is a trap we aren't facing it alone."

Chat Noir grinned. "That's why I follow you."

Ladybug smiled weakly. She twisted the handle and nudged the door open with her foot. Without so much as a creak, it swung open to reveal a lobby painted soft tones of pink and yellow. Ladybug pulled her weapon from her hip as Chat Noir extended his staff. They exchanged a quick look and nod before stepping inside.

Nothing happened. No alarms went off. No net fell on top of them. No akuma ballerina emerged from the shadows to turn them into statues. The only thing that Ladybug heard was the faint music that was still coming from the studio on the other side of the wall. Chat Noir shifted sideways away from her to examine the room. Ladybug tried to stick as close as possible to his side. If anything caught him off guard, she'd be right there to have his back. "The background music is beyond creepy." Chat Noir commented as he moved his staff from side to side. "I could do without it."

"We'll pass that along to Primadonna when we see her." Ladybug rolled her eyes at him.

The music cut off. It didn't just end. It  _cut_   _off_  in the middle of the song.

Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped back to back. Their shoulders tight as they held their individual weapons at the ready in front of them. Silence stretched on and the only thing that Ladybug could hear was the sound of hers and Chat Noir's baited breathing. "Apparently Primadonna got the memo. Let's just hope she doesn't bring it  _Bach_." Chat Noir joked.

She couldn't help it. Ladybug turned to glare at him. "Really? At a time like this?"

"Sorry, that one did fall a little  _flat_  in the tense moment." he joked again. If the second pun wasn't enough to tell her that he wasn't remotely sorry then the wide, cheshire grin on his face made it all to clear.

"I didn't think that was even Bach music playing." Ladybug mumbled under her breath.

"It wasn't but I thought it was  _clef_ -er." shrugged Chat Noir. Ladybug buried her face in her free hand. It wasn't enough to stifle her groan.

"C'mon wiseguy. Primadonna is playing with us. Let's go find her before she oozes from the shadows and turns us into statues." she said. Chat Noir snickered under his breath even as she grabbed on to his collar and pushed him forward. There was no way that she was about to admit to him that his puns helped take the tension out of nerve wracking situations for her. She couldn't even begin to count the times that his stupid jokes had made her feel less on edge. He'd never stop if she did.

"I'll  _scale_  it back." he halfway promised her. Again, all she could do was roll her eyes.

A soft creak echoed through the room. Chat Noir and Ladybug immediately froze midstep. Chat Noir raised his staff defensively. All at once the light air that Chat Noir had created was gone. Sapped from the atmosphere within seconds. The door at the very far end of the room was hanging open a hair with a thin beam of light emanating from it. They didn't say a single word as they creeped closer to what was clearly an open invitation.

Chat Noir's hand flung outwards to stop her when they got within feet of the door. His fingers fluttered nervously. "She's in there. I can see light reflecting off of the rhinestones on her costume." murmured Chat Noir.

Ladybug curled her hand around her weapon, pulling the string taut. She ducked under Chat Noir's hand, spun her weapon around in a wide arc, and aimed. The string wrapped around the door knob and Ladybug yanked the door open. There was enough residual light in the room to see Primadonna's elegant form against the mirrors of the dance studio. Her hands were folded in front of her as she waited patiently in a relaxed position. Ladybug's eyes went wide when she saw her. Chat Noir hadn't told her just how stunning Primadonna was.

Ladybug eyed Primadonna's black satin shoes. In all honesty, she saw nothing different or sinister about them. They looked just like any other pointe shoe that she'd seen the other dancers where. Angeline had insisted that was where the akuma resided though. She'd been right about the Premiere Danse Academie after all. Even Chat Noir had seemed to agree with Angeline. She just had to get those shoes. Sure! Not a problem! She could do that. She'd gotten a pair of skates off of another akuma once. There had to be a way to do it again… most likely. Ladybug forced herself to tear her eyes off of them. She really didn't want to tip Primadonna off that she was plotting how to get her shoes. Thankfully, Primadonna wasn't really paying that much attention.

Primadonna dipped into a low curtsy, spreading her arms out wide before rising again. She waved her hand at them beckoning. "Come in won't you? I've been waiting for you to come." Primadonna told them.

It was like she was inviting them to afternoon tea and not the potential trap that the entire setup wreaked of. Unfortunately, the options presented were horribly limited. There wasn't really any way that they were going to be able to do much about Primadonna from the hall. Yes, she'd probably have a hard time turning them into statues but the close space didn't lend itself to much shoe stealing possibilities. Ladybug caught Chat Noir's eye. She tilted her head towards the door. "Stay on your toes kitty." Ladybug whispered to him.

He gave a curt nod and curled his fingers tighter around his staff. Ladybug stepped through the door. Chat Noir was hot on her heels.

"So you don't like my music Chat Noir?" asked Primadonna, eyebrow raising slightly.

"No offense but it's a little on the macabre side." Chat Noir told her. He didn't move a muscle as he stared Primadonna down.

"It's called setting a stage. I'd have thought that Ladybug and Chat Noir of all people would understand that concept." Primadonna answered simply. "I had a feeling it would be you two that came. Where is Angeline?"

"She's safe," Ladybug told her icily.

Primadonna sniffed, "I'm so glad that to finally meet you Ladybug. I missed you at the recital hall."

"I'm here now and this is going to stop  _now_!"

"You're most welcome to try. It won't work. I will have both your's and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Then I'm going to find Angeline."

"No," Ladybug shook her head. Her weapon twisted through the air so fast that it was nothing but a red and black blur. "No you won't."

"Have it your way then. I didn't think that you'd be interested in doing this the easy way anyways." Primadonna told them.

She rose gracefully and fluidly on to pointe. Her hands and arms extended over her head. The look on her face was downright fierce. With practiced poised calm, Primadonna took a step and a purple glow rose around her body. Ladybug's stomach jolted. "Don't let that light hit you!" cried Chat Noir.

He shoved Ladybug sideways as he jumped the opposite direction. Right in time too. A bolt of purple sailed through the air and went through the door that Ladybug and Chat Noir had previously been blocking. For a moment all Ladybug could do was stare in shock at the spot. She was  _quick_! Chat Noir's loud yell brought her back to reality.

Chat Noir dove in close to Primadonna. His staff glinted in the low lighting as he brought it around in a low swing at her feet. Primadonna scoffed irritatedly, dancing backwards. She wasn't very much for the defensive and on the run kind of plays though. Immediately Primadonna turned about, raised her leg into the air, and executed a leaping jump past Chat Noir. He only just barely rolled out of the way of the bolt that lit up his face with a devilish violet hue. Ladybug grit her teeth. Primadonna was extremely fast and extremely accurate.

Ladybug jumped forward, weapon flying. Any part of the body. If she could wrap up any part of the body and throw Primadonna's groove off then that would be a good start. Right as Ladybug launched her weapon, though, Primadonna twisted and Ladybug's attack missed.

A thin smile stretched across Primadonna's face as she looked at Ladybug. "Care to dance Ladybug? You seem to be very agile and flexible yourself. Let's see how you fare." laughed Primadonna.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir called from the other side of the room. That was the only warning she got before another bolt of purple went careening towards her weapon. Ladybug pulled her weapon back in just in time to save it from Primadonna's attack. However, Primadonna already lining up her next shot. There was a loud metallic crack and a high pitched shriek of pain as Chat Noir's staff landed soundly on Primadonna's back.

The smile had disappeared off of Primadonna's face as she stumbled sideways to try and regain her precious balance. A light felt like it clicked on in Ladybug's head. Primadonna couldn't attack both her  _and_  Chat Noir at the same time. She might be accurate but it meant nothing if one of them was always keeping her from dancing properly. Her only real hope was to get both Ladybug and Chat Noir together. However, she'd yet to realize that little detail.

A smirk creeped on to Ladybug's face. She looked up to Chat Noir. He was heading her way. "No! Chat Noir! Stay on her other side!" she shouted to him.

"You've got a plan?" he asked, catching sight of her smirk. Chat Noir saw Primadonna taking aim at him again from the corner of her eye. He thrust his staff at her, letting it extend it by several feet to keep a safe distance from her. Primadonna let out a frustrated shriek. At least she tried too. It was kind of hard with the wind knocked out of her lungs. It didn't last long because she took a deep breath and straightened her posture again. She only had eyes for Chat Noir at the moment. Ladybug kind of needed it to stay that way for a couple of minutes. Chat Noir grimaced as he scurried away from Primadonna's attack. He followed Ladybug's directions and didn't circle back around to her side like he'd originally wanted to. "Please tell me you've got a plan!"

"Buy me some time!" she told him. Well, she sort of had a plan. At least what she would need in order to form a plan. Ladybug stepped back, pulled Tikki's magic to the forefront of her being, and tossed her weapon in the air. "Give me something that I can use. Lucky Charm!"

Red light washed the room. Primadonna twisted around to see what was happen. A hiss escaped her lips. She turned her attention towards Ladybug once more as the Lucky Charm dropped out of the air into Ladybug's hand.

Ladybug blinked when she saw the item, "A CD?"

"Most interesting Ladybug," snorted Primadonna. "What do you plan to do with that?"

"Uhh…" Ladybug faltered. That was an excellent question. She flipped it over in her hands. There was nothing on it that signified what it was. It was just the typical red and black spotted item that Tikki's magic usually procured for her. Ladybug could see the CD player across the room. It was turned on and ready to be used. If she put it in and cranked up the music would it maybe shatter the mirrors or mess up Primadonna's rhythm? How exactly was a CD supposed to help her get Primadonna's pointe shoes?

"Ladybug?" Chat Noir said from across the room, breaking her attention. She snapped her head up to look at him. Worry was clearly etched on to his face. He ducked sideways and pushed his staff between Primadonna's legs. She jumped over the top of it with mild annoyance.

"I'm working on it. Just a little bit longer." Ladybug told him emphatically. She curled her hands around the CD case before tearing it open. The shiny reflective side caught her eyes as did the mirrors that lined the one wall of the room. Was it possible to bounce Primadonna's petrification stone statue attack off of the CD and mirror and back at her? Only one way to find out! Ladybug needed to make sure that when, or if, the light bounced back off that there would be a place that would definitely take her off of her feet. Ladybug looked at the polished, smooth wooden floor beneath her feet. Once more a smile slipped on to her face. It would truly be a shame if the floor wasn't nearly as smooth or perfect for dancing on.

Lucky for her, Ladybug knew just the cat for the job.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug threw her weapon. It wound tight around her wrist and jerked her off rhythm. Chat Noir was panting for breath when he looked up at Ladybug. "See how much of a mess you can make of the floor!"

Chat Noir straightened, balling his hand into a fist. He gave her a broad, cocky kind of smile as he nodded curtly. "You got it my lady!"

Primadonna's eyes went wide. "No!" she screamed.

A sharp tug took Ladybug by surprise. She jerked forward, desperately trying to keep her feet underneath of her as Primadonna wrenched her arm free of the string that was around her wrist. Primadonna turned with her hand and arm extended… straight towards Chat Noir.

His arm was in the air. Little wisps of black energy swirled around his knuckles. There was a flare of purple light.

"Cata… Ah!" He cut off with a pained cry.

"Chat!" screamed Ladybug. The CD hit the ground with quiet clatter especially in comparison to the heavy crash that Chat Noir went down with.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last chapter after this one. Bonus! There's a kiss in this chapter!

"Chat!" Ladybug screamed. All the warmth in her body was sapped away like someone had just submerged her in ice water. Chat Noir fell to the floor with a hard crash, still screaming in pain. The CD hit the ground and Ladybug sprinted to her partner's side. "Chat Noir!"

He'd twisted around instinctively to protect the hand and forearm that was now solid white marble. Ladybug dropped to her knees beside him. Chat Noir didn't even realize she was there. He was still spitting pain riddled curses as he held his brutalized limb close to his body. "Talk to me Chat! Are you okay?" Ladybug begged desperately as she pulled him into her arms.

That had to be the dumbest question she'd ever asked. Of course he wasn't okay! His hand was completely stone! This was all her fault. Had he been closer to her, she could've pushed him out of the way. Ladybug pressed her eyes shut and buried her face in Chat Noir's shoulder. She should've done a better job holding Primadonna in place. How could she have possibly failed so utterly as a partner? Ladybug felt sick to her stomach. Every last fiber of her being was rolling over on itself. Chat Noir was hurt and it was all  _her_  fault. "I'm so, so, sor…"

"Damn! I don't know if I should say her aim was spectacular or completely miserable." Chat Noir laughed through his clenched jaw. He looked up at her. There was a smile on his face but his eyes watered at the corners. Chat Noir shifted carefully and Ladybug scrambled to help him sit up straight. That was when they both finally got a good look at his arm. He went completely still underneath her touch.

His entire hand, wrist, and forearm just below his elbow was solid, white, unmoving marble. It was insanely detailed, showing the folds in his costume and lines in his ring, but it was all still stone. Chat Noir's hand and fingers were still curled into the form he summoned 'Cataclysm' with. Hesitantly, he wrapped his finger around his stone wrist gingerly. He didn't flinch in pain… but he did start trembling. "Maybe this cat just got extremely lucky for once in his life." he whispered as he turned his stone arm over.

Ladybug choked on her disagreement. Lucky? He considered having part of his body turned into a sculpture  _lucky_! Ladybug knew luck and this wasn't it! She had to fix this! Not just for everyone else that had been turned into a statue but for Chat Noir as well! She was going to rip Primadonna's shoes off her feet!

"It looks like I'm not going to be able to use Cataclysm this time around my lady." Chat Noir told her mournfully soft. Ladybug jerked to attention. The disheartened and disappointed look on Chat Noir's face pierced her right through the heart. This was  _her_  fault and she was going to  _fix_  it! "I'm sorry Ladybug."

The cord that was holding Ladybug's anger at herself together snapped. She crushed Chat Noir to her chest as tightly as she possibly could. How could he possibly think that he had any blame in all this? It was all on her!

"Well I couldn't allow him to just destroy the floor and jeopardize my dancing. Don't worry. It won't be a problem. I will get both their Miraculous." Primadonna said to the thin air beside her. Her mouth was turned down in a frown as she listened intently to something that Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't hear. She said nothing for a moment before nodding and saying, "Of course Hawkmoth. It will be my pleasure."

She turned to face them once more. Ladybug couldn't help it. Her arms tightened around Chat Noir's shoulders protectively as Primadonna gazed down at them. A lump welled in Ladybug's throat. This was going to be downright ugly. "Can I possibly convince you to  _now_  give me your Miraculous?" Primadonna asked as she stretched her hand out to them. "You must see now that the resistance is fruitless. I will gladly return your arm to normal Chat Noir and leave you unharmed Ladybug. I have no grudge against you."

"As tempting as that offer is, we're going to have to go with no." Chat Noir growled. He pried himself away from Ladybug's grasp. Ladybug was quicker than he was though. She jumped to her feet and placed herself between Primadonna and Chat Noir. "Ladybug…" he whispered, voice tight.

Ladybug reached around and gripped his hand reassuringly. She'd have his back this time! Chat Noir shifted behind her. A shrill beep sounded in her ear.  _You need to hurry_ , Tikki's voice pushed.  _You don't have much time!_  She grit her teeth. No not much time left at all!

"Your Miraculous! You need to get out of here!" Chat Noir told her urgently.

"We're not finished here." Ladybug told him.

"Suit yourself. I was hoping that this would end differently." Primadonna gave a long sigh. Her arms rose in the air as she went up into pointe. It looked as though she was interested in finishing up their fight rather quickly. Ladybug readied her weapon. Chat Noir let out a very low, quiet hiss.

"That's enough Therese!" snapped a voice. Everyone whipped around to look.

Ladybug nearly dropped her weapon. Standing behind Primadonna was Angeline. She was close to the CD player and had the disk that Ladybug had summoned in her hand.

"Angeline! What are you doing here?" Ladybug gasped. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all! Chat Noir was cut off from using Cataclysm and was part stone! Ladybug was running out of time! Now there was a targeted civilian standing face to face with the akuma that wanted to turn her into a marble statue! This was not good at all.

"Angeline? My pet? Now this really is a surprise." Primadonna said. She twisted to face Angeline head on and tilted her head to the side. "I thought that Ladybug and Chat Noir would've kept you hidden away from me."

"Angeline, you need to get out of here…  _now_!" Chat Noir told her. He stepped out from behind Ladybug. Angeline must have seen his hand because her eyes went wide momentarily before she met Primadonna's gaze evenly.

"I'm not going to hide from you." she told her. "Quite frankly this has gone far enough. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else."

Primadonna drew back slightly in confusion, "You're surrendering?"

"No!" Ladybug yelled at the same time Chat Noir called, "Angeline, stop!"

"That's not what I'm saying Therese." Angeline ignored them.

"Primadonna!" she snapped angrily.

"Therese!" Angeline snapped right back, matching her tone for tone. She turned and hit a button on the stereo system. The CD player popped open.

"What are you doing Angeline?" Primadonna sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and watched Angeline slip the Lucky Charm CD into the player.

"Uhh…" Chat Noir raised his good hand into the air.

Ladybug pushed it down again. "Wait!"

"What are you talking about? I thought you had a plan for it?" whispered Chat Noir.

"I did and then it resulted in you being partially turned to stone. It's a Lucky Charm right? It works in ways that we don't always get at in the moment. Maybe…" Ladybug's voice trailed off. It was mostly due to the fact that her tongue was quickly becoming dry. Even as she said the words they sounded incredibly  _desperate_ to her. Time was ticking away as they sat there staring like lost children! There had to be something she could do and she needed to think of it quickly!

The strains of a familiar song floated through the dance studio. Ladybug immediately recognized the song. It was the same one that the two had danced to at the recital. Primadonna visibly jarred at the sound. "You want to turn me into stone?" Angeline said as she stepped away from the stereo. She spread her arms wide in invitation. "Be my guest!"

"Angeline! No!" yelled both Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug wound up her weapon. Primadonna started to get into position.

The music changed and, suddenly, so did Angeline. Arms raised to her chest level, foot pointed in front of her, and an intense glare on her face. Primadonna froze in surprise. She wasn't the only one. Ladybug's jaw hit the ground. "That's unexpected." Chat Noir said in an equally shocked tone.

"You'll have to keep up with me though." Angeline told her simply. That was when Ladybug finally saw the shoes she was wearing. For the most part, Angeline still looked very much like she had when Ladybug and Chat Noir had left her. She was still in her leggings and her dance company warm up jacket. However, instead of a pair of tennis shoes, Angeline was wearing a pair white ballet flats that looked like they had been around for ages. Her eyebrow shot up as as Primadonna openly scoffed. A smug smile spread across her face as she asked, "You didn't think that I was going to let you turn me into a statue that easily, did you?"

Angeline locked eyes with Ladybug. It only lasted half a moment, not even long enough for Ladybug to draw a full breath. The implication in that fast glance was clear to her though. "She's going to use herself as a distraction!" she whispered so that only Chat Noir could hear her.

"A distraction?" he repeated. He looked between Primadonna and Angeline. "This looks more like it's coming down to an honest to God dance off."

As if to answer his question, Primadonna rolled up on to pointe and straight into an arabesque. Purple light shot from her hand as she extended it at the same time she lifted her leg. Angeline was already gone though. She took a spinning diagonal step and brought her own arm up theatrically. "This is really coming down to an honest to God dance off!" Chat Noir told her. "I thought those things only happened in movies!"

Ladybug fought to keep herself from pressing her hand to her face. Instead she focused on the more pressing issue. "Angeline is helping. We can't let it go to waste or worse…"

"Let her get turned into Primadonna's next masterpiece." Chat Noir finished for her.

Ladybug wasn't able to stop herself from staring at Chat Noir's stone hand. She couldn't mess up again. Angeline and Chat Noir were both counting on her. If Chat Noir were to get caught in Primadonna's crosshairs again then Ladybug would… Chat Noir shoved his hand behind his back abruptly when he realized that's what she was looking at. Ladybug shook her head to clear away the dark thoughts that started to creep into her brain. A plan! They needed a plan!

Angeline was doing an excellent job keeping Primadonna occupied. They had both fallen into time with the music. Whether or not it had been intentional on Primadonna's part Ladybug wasn't certain. Every time Primadonna went to attack, Angeline was moving or ducking away. Purple light was flying everywhere. Some beams hit the mirrors and went every which way. Not good when Angeline had enough to focus on without having to worry dodging the rebounding attacks. She nearly caught the tail end of one such reflected attack and stumbled sideways. "First and foremost, we've got to get rid of those mirrors!" Ladybug mumbled.

She raised her weapon, ready to lunge and strike. "Leave the mirrors to me! You take care of Primadonna and the akuma before your time runs out!" Chat Noir said, jumping in front of her.

Ladybug rounded on him. "Your hand! You can't use Cataclysm. Remember?" she snapped.

"You know, I don't always have to destroy things in the most dramatic way possible. I'm pretty good at making a mess  _without_  Superpowers." he pointed out. For added emphasis, Chat Noir reached behind him and pulled his staff from his holster. He gave it a little wave with a smirk crawling across his face. Ladybug stared at it for a moment blankly. A light bulb clicked on in Ladybug's brain.

"That's it!" she gasped!

"Uh… my staff?" he asked her in confusion.

Ladybug reached up and grabbed his wrist. "Earlier! You were swinging it at her feet. Trying to get her off balance and trip her up!" Ladybug reminded him as she shook his arm.

"Um, yeah. I was trying to buy you more time." Chat Noir nodded but clearly wasn't on the same page as her. That was perfectly alright. He didn't need to be because he'd already given her the idea that they were in dire need of! Ladybug felt like she could kiss him.

The thought passed through her head and all of a sudden she was blushing. Thankfully the heat of the battle going on behind them was able keep her from caring about it too much or spiraling into helplessness. Chat Noir was also too preoccupied to say anything about it. "I can do the same thing!" Ladybug told him as she held her weapon up in front of her. She pulled the string tight between her hands. "Only when she falls… I can keep her feet tied up!"

Understanding dawned on Chat Noir's face. "Bye bye pointe shoes!" he grinned.

"Exactly!" Ladybug nodded vigorously. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a streak of violet coming their way. She jumped forward and pushed Chat Noir down by the shoulders. They watched with equally stricken expressions as the light narrowly missed them and hit the wall instead. "Take care of the mirrors!"

"Right! Good luck with Primadonna my lady!"

Chat Noir sped off. He ducked under wayward beams of light as he went. Ladybug couldn't afford to watch or worry. Another beep trilled in her ear.  _Hurry! We don't have much time!_  Tikki's voice sounded urgent in Ladybug's mind. She set her jaw, raised her weapon, and watched Primadonna carefully.

Something had changed with the way that Primadonna and Angeline were dancing. They were closer… more  _intimate_. Angeline had come in close to her, dancing as near to Primadonna as possible with zero care about how close some of Primadonna's attacks were coming to her. They were practically back to back at one point as they twisted around each other. Their steps were intricate and more often than not looked as though they were in danger of tripping over one another. They never did though. It was glaringly evident that they had danced together so much that they both knew the other's every movement and could react to it. Ladybug just really needed for Primadonna to put both her feet on the floor so she could lash them together!

The first crack of shattering glass jarred Primadonna's concentration. Little pieces of mirror rained down on the floor close to their feet. Primadonna was turning to look. However, before she could even fully rotate her body, Angeline hands had shot out and took her by the wrists firmly. Primadonna stumbled in surprise. She'd have fallen if not for Angeline's support. Angeline looked over her shoulder at Ladybug before casting her eyes down in a very pointed glance at Primadonna's feet. She'd guessed what was going through Ladybug's mind. It was like she was completely unphased by the purplish hue that her dance partner was glowing with.

Angeline redirected Primadonna's movement with a forward lunge. With a delicate nudge, Primadonna slipped into a deep arabesque that she never would've been able to complete herself. It was something that the pair had definitely practiced in the past because of how fluidly the two did it. They almost seemed to be of one mind as Angeline used her hands on Primadonna's wrists to fold their arms around each other and sway to the music. Then it happened.

Angeline slipped her hands to Primadonna's waist. The tips of Primadonna's feet touched the ground. Ladybug took aim and let her weapon fly. Primadonna's shriek drowned out the music as the string snared around her feet. One last streak of purple light shot out from her. Chat Noir yelped and took cover right as he smashed the final mirror. It would've ricocheted right into him had he not gotten rid of the final mirror. Angeline's hands wrapped around Primadonna and broke her fall. They both stumbled to the ground. "Hurry Ladybug!" called Angeline as she held tight to Primadonna.

She didn't need to be told twice! Ladybug raced forward, ignoring Primadonna's angry screams. Chat Noir beat her to Primadonna though. He used his clawed glove to slice right through the ribbons on Primadonna's pointe shoes. "Catch!" he said as he tossed them through the air at her.

"No!" yelled Primadonna. Angeline cried out as Primadonna elbowed her in the face. It was too late though. Ladybug caught them on the downward arc and threw them to the ground, hard. She brought her foot down on top of them as hard as she possibly could.

Crack!

Ladybug's foot collapsed over top of the flattened shoes. Black satin hung limply out to the side as a single black butterfly pulled itself from the wreckage. With a flick, Ladybug untangled her weapon from Primadonna's feet already pulling forth Tikki's magic as she did so. "Alright akuma! You've caused enough problems for the night!" Ladybug called as she flung her weapon and encompassed the akuma. "Gottcha!"

Pure white light flashed through the dance studio and illuminated it. Ladybug watched as the snowy butterfly fluttered away. She gave a sigh, stepping back and waving, "Bye bye little butterfly."

The music that had been playing died away and the stereo gave a little click. It appeared as though there was no other song on the CD to play. Ladybug crossed the room. "Time to put things back in order." she smiled as she grabbed the CD out of the stereo. She tossed it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Red light washed over the room. Glass rose back into the air and on to the wall again as the mirrors reformed. Shots of red flew from the room, tearing past Ladybug as they went to find other things that had been damaged. Chat Noir let out a gasp as the red light twined itself around him. His hair floated in the air as it swirled over his outstretched, petrified hand. It cleared and Ladybug nearly cried from relief. Chat Noir was back to normal and completely unscathed! He flexed his hand experimentally, turning it over to examine it closely. He threw a dazzlingly bright smile that made Ladybug's heart jump into her throat. Chat Noir gave her a double thumbs up to demonstrate that he could once more use both hands. Ladybug didn't have the heart to stomp down the butterflies in her stomach this time. She felt a little entitled to them now!

The last of the red light twisted around Primadonna. Angeline let go of her in surprise and scrambled backwards to give her space. The possessed form melted away and young woman with dark hair and a beautiful white ballet costume remained in her place. It took Ladybug less than a second to recognize her. It was Angeline's dance partner from the recital. "Therese!" breathed Angeline, not quite believing what she was watching in front of her.

"A… Angeline… Angeline? Where are we? The last thing I remember is…" stammered Therese as she looked around with wide eyed confusion.

Angeline cut her off. "Oh thank God! I'm so sorry Therese!"

She threw herself at Therese, wrapping her up in a tight hug. Therese let out a little startled gasp. Tears were streaming down Angeline's face as she shook against Therese's chest. Therese ran her hands over Angeline's head, down her face, and over her cheekbones. "Oh don't cry my pet." she murmured as she pressed two light kisses on to Angeline's brow.

"I should've told you sooner! I didn't want to upset you. I was scared of everything changing so quickly between us! It has to though. There's no other way because I can't keep dancing. That doesn't mean I want to leave you though! I'm not done being your partner. I'm so sorry Therese! Please forgive me!" cried Angeline.

Therese laughed lightly, "Only if you can forgive me for whatever hurt I might have caused you. I'm ready to be reasonable. Let's… let's talk about this."

"Like we should've done before tonight." nodded Angeline.

"Yes," agreed Therese.

Angeline lifted her head and pressed her lips to Therese's. Therese smiled as she tipped her head, hands cradling Angeline's neck and head firmly. Ladybug's jaw dropped and all she could do was watch as the pair deepened their kiss. She twisted around, putting her back to the couple, and felt heat surge in her face. How had she not realized this before? Chat Noir still staring at them like a gawking little kid. "Chat!" she hissed, reaching out and smacking him. "Privacy!"

Chat Noir went from his normal hue to stark white and then to bright red. The rapid fire color change was almost as quick as how fast he turned around. "Did you know they were a couple?" Ladybug asked him as she tried very pointedly not to stare at them.

"Of course not!" Chat Noir told her quickly, "Did you?"

"No!" she snapped back in a hushed tone. "I wondered whether or not 'friends' was a loose term when Angeline said that was what they were. Apparently it  _is_ , just not in the way I thought it was…"

A mischievous light glinted through Chat Noir's eyes. "I guess they're just a couple of gals being pals."

He said it oh so innocently. However, the way he flashed a cheshire grin at her made it clear that he knew  _exactly_ what he was saying. Ladybug could literally feel herself turning the same color as her suit. "Shut. Up!" she growled.

Chat Noir had the gall to snicker at her. A third high pitched beep from her Miraculous cut him off immediately. "Your Miraculous!" he gasped, eyes going wide as he pointed at her ears. "Your time is almost up!"

"Huh?" Ladybug said eloquently. She touched her Miraculous. Chat Noir lunged forward, grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her forward.

"We have to get you out of here!" he told her emphatically. Ladybug gave a startled yelp as he dragged her from the dance studio. He didn't even give her a chance to say goodbye to Therese and Angeline. They were so tied up in one another that they didn't care at all that she and Chat Noir were running from the room. They'd been so close to losing such a strong relationship over a few fears. A knife cut straight through to her core as Chat Noir's firm grasp on her wrist reminded her just how close he actually was.

Her earrings beeped again. Chat Noir kicked up the speed. Ladybug had to quickly fight to catch up with him so that he didn't pull her arm out of socket. He pulled her out the door of the studio and around the corner of the building. He let go of her hand. Ladybug just barely kept herself from stumbling forward. "You still have some time. You can make it down a side street without anyone seeing you. Your identity will be safe. I won't follow you I promise." Chat Noir told her as he peered down the alley way.

Ladybug froze. Chat Noir still felt the need to reassure her that he wouldn't cross the line and violate her trust. He'd asked once, that was all. After she'd told him that she didn't want to reveal her identity Chat Noir had dropped the subject without another word about it. Never! Not even once! Now here he was, swearing to safeguard her secret. He was so sweet and kind. He never once asked her for more than she wanted to give. There was no doubt in her mind that he truly and deeply cared about her.

"Ladybug?" Chat Noir's voice drew her attention. He was staring at her in confusion and chewing on his bottom lip. His tail seemed to lash from side to side as he spun around to check their surroundings for onlookers.

She cared about him too. Insanely so! How many times had they saved each other's skin? Too many to count. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would do anything she had to keep him safe. Ladybug had once nearly revealed her identity to him a few months ago when Wavemaster had kidnapped her to keep him from running headfirst into danger when she couldn't protect him. When it hadn't panned out Ladybug had thought it was a blessing. She'd been so scared about how Chat Noir would've reacted if he'd known that Marinette was his partner. She'd breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she'd dodged a bullet. Now, though, Ladybug found herself wondering if maybe… maybe she'd missed a chance.

Change was scary. She had a balance with Chat Noir. They were two parts of the same whole. If Ladybug was painfully honest with herself she was terrified of shattering the balance that they had. Who knew what would happen if she told him who she was and that she wanted to spend more time with him outside of the mask. If they were to date and something were to go wrong between them, then their balance would be gone. Completely ruined.

Or maybe it wouldn't. Maybe they'd date and it wouldn't work out. Maybe they'd still be able to be friends and work together to save Paris. Chat Noir wasn't the kind of person to let emotions get in the way of keeping people safe. It was completely unfair of her to just make that assumption.

Or maybe… maybe they'd date and they'd make a good couple.

_You need to make a decision_ , Tikki's voice told her gently. She was right. Ladybug needed to make a decision. Continue to live in the safe little space she and Chat Noir had created or break the glass and fly. Stay the same or risk a change. Ladybug's throat started to swell shut. It was utterly terrifying.

She'd already been rejected by Adrien. She had no idea what she would do if Chat Noir rejected her too when he realized that she was just plain Marinette. Then again, she was making another assumption. It was almost like she anticipated a horrible, crushing rejection. It was unfair to think that way about Chat Noir. It was unfair to not even give him the chance.

A lump formed in Ladybug's throat. Just like that she had made her decision.

"Chat I… can I ask… I need to tell you something?" she asked him quietly.

"Right now?" he questioned her. The disbelief colored his voice. "You're about to change back. Whatever it is can wait!"

"No, it really can't." Ladybug told him as she pulled him into the alley way. Needless to say, it did nothing for his confusion. She kept a hold of his hand. It reassured her that he didn't try to pull it away from her or turn around. "I really need to tell you this before I lose my nerve."

"Ladybug I'm not sure what you're talking about. If you don't leave now then you're risking your secret identity…" Chat Noir's voice trailed away. He finally figured out what she was getting at. "Oh. Oh.  _Oh_! Ladybug you don't have to!"

She squeezed his wrists, "I want to."

Something flickered over Chat Noir's face. Shock. Surprise. Disbelief. His jaw hung open as Chat Noir processed her words. Seconds ticked by and they felt like an eternity. "You don't have to reveal your identity to me if you don't want to. You know I would  _never_  push you to do something like that but…"

Ladybug paused. The words stuck in her throat. "My lady?" prompted Chat Noir.

"But I was thinking that maybe… maybe you'd like to do something like we did tonight again. Not the whole save Paris and purify akumas thing. We do that almost every night. I mean like going to see recitals or movies or just even hang out and get coffee if you wanted to. Except… maybe they could be more like, you know,  _dates_?"

Her words sounded very small at the end, practically a squeak. Had Chat Noir not been transformed then she doubted he would've even been able to hear her. "You… you're asking me out?" he repeated with a still hanging jaw.

"Only if you wanted to. You can change your mind after you know who I am. Just in case you aren't interested." she whispered. Oh God! Ladybug hoped he wouldn't change his mind after he saw it was only Marinette underneath the mask. She forcibly mentally kicked the thoughts out of her head. She trusted Chat Noir. Ladybug wouldn't assume that he would.

"Ladybug I would never." promised Chat Noir. His vehemence poured through every word in the phrase. The butterflies in her chest rose right along with her hope.

She started to say something. Ladybug had her mouth open and the words forming on her tongue. Before she could get them out though, a final beep filled the quiet air around her. Ladybug took a deep breath to steady her nerves as red and white light twisted around her body. Tikki emerged from her earrings and fell into her waiting hands. Tikki gave a small supportive smile before heading into the purse hanging at her side to give them some privacy. Marinette looked up at Chat Noir with a wobbly smile on her lips.

"Hi," Marinette waved awkwardly. "My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng but I guess you pretty much already know that seeing as how you've met me before. With, um, Evillustrator and Gamer and… well you know, Wavemaster. I don't think I ever thanked you properly for the whole Wavemaster incident. I was going to tell you then but everything just happened so fast and my friend Alya managed to get me my Miraculous and Tikki in time to transform and help you so it just never really worked out I suppose. I wanted to tell you now though because I really care about you and you've always been such a good friend to me. I love spending time with you and you were there to comfort me when Adrien turned me down. And I'm totally babbling now so I'm just going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me on an official date and shut up…"

The torrent of words left Marinette's mouth almost immediately as she thought of them. She had a hard time looking Chat Noir in the eye as she spoke. Wow! It reminded her of how she'd sounded when Adrien had informed her that he knew about her crush on him. Marinette worked up the courage to meet Chat Noir's glance.

Immediately she regretted it.

Chat Noir was frozen in front of her. Not only was his jaw hanging open like it had been moments earlier but his eyes were as wide. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. There was no doubt about it, Chat Noir was utterly frozen. He might as well have been a marble statue courtesy of Primadonna. Silence stretched between them. It was agonizing.  _Please say something_ , Marinette begged silently. Her smile felt even more frail now. "So what… what do you say?"

"Mar… Marinette?" he choked out. He sounded like someone was strangling him. "I… I don't… I don't understand."

A stab of pain killed the butterflies in her chest. Sharp and fierce. Just as much so as when Adrien had told her he liked someone else. It was happening again. Chat Noir hadn't said a word but his hesitation and non-answer was answer enough. He obviously wasn't interested seeing that his amazing and miraculous Ladybug was a little girl he'd had to protect on multiple occasions. Not anything close to the girl he'd been expecting.

"Nevermind," Marinette shook her head, backing away a pace. "You aren't interested. It's okay. I understand. Don't worry about it. I'll see you on patrol tomorrow night."

Her voice broke somewhere in the middle of the rush of words. She spun on her heel and ran for the opposite end of the alley. All Marinette wanted to do was put as much distance between her and Chat Noir. "Marinette?" called Tikki as she stuck her head out of the bag.

"My la…" Chat Noir called after but stopped halfway through and changed his words, "Marinette! Wait!"

She ignored him though. Marinette didn't need an explanation. She didn't want one. There was no way she could bear one. All Marinette wanted was some space to breathe. "Let's go home Tikki." she whispered as she pressed her hand on top of her beloved kwami and friend.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! The last chapter! Thank you everyone who joined me on this journey. It's been fun!

"Marinette?" Tikki said soothingly in her ear. Marinette buried her face even farther in her pillow. Tikki's little paws stroked her hair gently as she made soft little clicks. Marinette wished that Tikki would just leave her alone to wallow in her misery. To let the darkness that was invading her swallow her whole and numb her pain. She physically ached all over, tucked up on her chaise lounge. It was like someone was squeezing her chest. Her breath was coming in short, stilted puffs from all the crying she'd done. How her parents hadn't woken up or heard her was a pure miracle. Marinette was already anticipating being 'sick' and staying home from school in the morning. Heartsick wasn't exactly a real medical condition but nobody at school had to know that. "Do you want me to call Alya for you? Maybe she can come over."

Marinette shook her head against her tear-soaked pillow. She'd have made some sort of sound if she thought she was capable of it. Her voice was gone though. All the crying. She'd been crying ever since she'd been two blocks away from the place she'd left Chat Noir standing like an idiot. That had been nearly an hour and a half ago. "Please Marinette…" murmured Tikki. "Let me do something to help you."

"Thank you Tikki but I'll be okay." Marinette whispered. She picked her head up off her pillow and met Tikki's wide blue eyes. Tikki's face fell. Marinette forced a paper thin smile on her face. It tore almost instantly. "I just… I just need some time. Th… that's all." she told Tikki as she scrubbed furiously at her eyes.

It didn't matter though. Tears still slipped down her cheeks. A chill wracked her body or maybe it was just the fact that she was so tired that she had no energy to keep herself warm anymore. Tikki nuzzled up against her cheek. "Oh Marinette," she said as she dipped down and pulled up the throw blanket around Marinette's shoulders. "You're probably dehydrated from all the crying. I'll go get you some water from downstairs."

"You really don't have to Tikki." Marinette called after her but she was already gone. She started to get up but stopped halfway through the motion. Her knees shook too hard. Marinette collapsed back down on to the chaise lounge, pulling her knees up to her chest and tucking the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I hate this." she whispered to herself.

Marinette hated that she had a massive bleeding wound in what felt like the dead center of her heart. First Adrien and now Chat Noir. Why wasn't she good enough? For a split second, right before she pulled Chat Noir into the alley, she'd been so certain that it was going to be alright. That Chat Noir wouldn't care that she was just a silly girl he'd saved a handful of times. Now, however, Marinette was sure that was all he saw her as. It was like she'd watched Chat Noir's crush on her wither and die. At least she'd never have to listen to him throw another cheesy pick up line her way. Marinette gasped in pain and curled into herself. "How could I be so stupid?"

Adrien had been right all along in his fears. Chat Noir had hurt her. Maybe not anywhere close to the way Adrien had anticipated but he had definitely hurt her. Probably just as badly as Adrien had too. No, this hurt more. She knew Chat Noir better than Adrien. She trusted him so completely. In the back of her mind Marinette knew that Chat Noir probably hadn't meant to cut her so deeply. They would still be friends at least… probably. There had to be a way to pull herself together before tomorrow night's patrol. The very last thing she wanted to do was to let Chat Noir see her weak yet again. At least she already planned on not going to school the next day. Adrien wouldn't see just how broken and stupid she was. Marinette tried to breath through her nose to calm herself. It came out as a pathetic sniffle. Maybe it was a good idea to cancel tomorrow night's patrol too.

Thunk!

Marinette jerked, knuckles going white around the blanket. She could feel her nails  _through_  it. Light footsteps fell above her head from her rooftop patio. Instinctively, Marinette's eyes rose and she turned her head towards the noise. Thick boots and creaking wood. The only person who could've possibly be up there, especially at such a late hour, knew very well how to sneak around and be quiet when he didn't want to be caught. He was very good at it. The fact that Marinette heard him at all meant that he  _wanted_  her to know that he was there. He didn't want to surprise her. Marinette's heart sunk even deeper into her stomach. With each step and creak her chest felt tighter and tighter. "Please… go away." she mumbled, burying her face in her palms.

The footsteps stopped. Marinette looked up at her ceiling again. She waited. She hoped. She prayed. It was all in vain.

A soft, timid,  _hesitant_  knock sounded through the room as Chat Noir rapped his knuckles on the trapdoor above her bed. Marinette held her breath. It was locked and he wouldn't come in without her permission. Maybe if she just ignored him, he would go away. She waited. Apparently she had even worse luck than what she thought. "Can we talk?  _Please_?" asked Chat Noir, his voice just loud enough to carry through the door.

"Go away Chat Noir." she called up to him. Marinette burrowed herself deeper into her blanket and pressed herself closer to the back of the chaise lounge. It was almost like she was trying to get away from him.

"I didn't get a chance to say anything to you." he said, voice bordering on pleading.

"You didn't have to." Marinette said it so quietly that she doubted that he even heard her.

"I just want to talk to you. Please let me in or come up here or something."

"You should go." Tikki told her. Marinette jumped and twisted to face her. Somehow Tikki balanced a half-full glass of water between her tiny little paws. "I know you don't want to but he came all this way to see you. That says something doesn't it?"

"It hurts so much Tikki." Another stab of pain in her chest punctuated her words. Marinette covered her ears.

"I know but maybe if you two talk it won't hurt so badly. Perhaps the two of you can sort it out." Tikki insisted. Her voice was kind and gentle. She sat the glass down on the floor beside the chaise lounge before floating back up to caress Marinette's face. "It will be okay."

Marinette couldn't bring herself to meet Tikki's gaze so she stared at the upholstery instead. Above her, Chat Noir had fallen quiet. She could practically feel his presence though. There was no way that he'd left. Part of her wondered how long he'd actually sit up there. The rest of the night most likely. Marinette glanced up at her trapdoor and then over at Tikki. She'd have to face Chat Noir at some point no matter which way she felt. Now or later. It didn't matter. The distinct iron heavy dread would still sit in her stomach. She'd feel it's weight for months before it finally became manageable again like it had with Adrien.

Mechanically, Marinette unfolded herself from the chaise lounge. Her legs twinged uncomfortably as she stretched out from being squished up so long. Tikki gave a relieved sigh. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.

"No, it's fine. I'll be okay." Marinette shook her head and dropped the blanket back on to her chaise lounge. Her knees wobbled as she walked up the stairs to her loft. She really hated the way her hand shook when she pressed it up to the wood. The trapdoor was the last barrier that kept her from Chat Noir. Marinette took a breath to try and steady her nerves. It didn't work very well. She pushed the trapdoor up. There would most likely never be a better time for this.  _On the so called bright side, at least there was nothing worse that could happen to me tonight!_

Cool night air brushed Marinette's skin. Chat Noir was standing at the far end of the patio by the iron wrought fence. His faux ears were drooping to the side. He shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly and held his hands behind his back. There was tension in his shoulders. He resembled a tightly wound spring that was ready to snap if any more pressure was put on him. The guilt on his face was palpable. "What do you want Chat Noir? It's late." Marinette told him.

Chat Noir took a deep breath before saying, "I wanted to say that I was sorry."

The apology cut straight through to her. The apologies, Marinette had found, were the absolute worst! He was so sweet which was why it sucked so much. She supposed it would've been much harder for her to feel brokenhearted if Chat Noir was a giant jerkface. The same went for Adrien.

"You don't have to apologize for how you feel." she told him quietly. She wrapped her arms around her chest and tried to rub away the chill that was seeping through her skin. "I'll be okay eventually Chat. Just give me a little bit of time alright. A couple of days and some space. I promise that I'll be able to function and that I won't make it weird for either one of us."

"That's not what I was apologizing for." Chat Noir said quickly. He took a half step forward to her. Marinette backed away on instinct. Anything to try and spare herself from more pain. A wince flashed across Chat Noir's face. He gave a frustrated groan and shook his head. "Please… just listen okay. Don't say anything because you kinda did all the talking earlier and now it's my turn."

"But you…" she started.

Chat Noir jumped in, "I'm serious! Let me talk and get all the way through this before you say anything alright. I want to start by saying that I'm a grade A idiot and yes. I  _do_  owe you an apology. God! I can't believe just  _how_  stupid I am. All I can think about is how all this time you trusted me and confided in me and I was the one who hurt you so badly."

His shoulders jumped weirdly as he fought to keep his hands behind his back for some strange reason. Marinette shifted uneasily as she watched him. Chat Noir hadn't hurt her until that evening yet he was acting like it was an ongoing issue. "You aren't making any sense."

"Of course I'm not! Why would I ever make sense? I can't ever do anything right! I fall in love with you, Ladybug, and then when you, Marinette, tell me that you like me I'm a blind nitwit that might as well be looking at the world through a giant paper sack! Everything is so painfully obvious to me now and I'm kicking myself. My lady… princess? Marinette? Ladybug? I don't even know what to call you anymore because I've lived with my head shoved so far up in the clouds that the lack of oxygen must have killed half my brain cells. My dad would be so proud of me! All those extra lessons on random things were supposed to keep me sharp and I'm about as sharp as a dull spoon!"

"What?" she shook her head, mouth falling open slightly. She'd have asked him to repeat himself. The way Chat Noir sped from one thought to the next told Marinette that he wasn't thinking really hard about his words.

"Here!" Chat Noir's voice jumped up a whole octave and three whole decibel levels. He held out a beautiful bouquet of red roses and bright daisies to her abruptly. His hand shook. The flower petals trembled on the stems. Marinette's heart ached at the sight of the flowers. Pity flowers? 'I'm sorry you aren't the girl I thought you were' flowers?

She bit her lip.  _Don't accept them_ , her better judgement told her firmly.  _You're hurt and confused and he's doing something that he hopes will make you feel better about yourself. It isn't going to change the way he feels. It will only make it hurt worse_. There was something that didn't match up with the desperate look on Chat Noir's face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry!" he said emphatically. The flowers wavered but he didn't let them drop.

Marinette's hands seemed to rise of their own volition. She said nothing as she took them from Chat Noir's tense hand. That was about the time she noticed that he was as white as a ghost. "You didn't have to." she mumbled as she tried to summon the strength to wrap her fingers tight around the bouquet.

"I did!" He ran his hand through his hair, gripping it by the roots and making it messier than what it already was. "I did and I know it's not enough. I tried to get you something that you would like but I wasn't sure because you said as Marinette that daisies were better than roses. Then as Ladybug you told me that roses were best."

Wait a minute! When had she  _ever_ said that she liked daisies? As Marinette as a matter of fact. It wasn't like she made a point of hanging out with Chat Noir outside of the costume. Something wasn't adding up at all.

"I was so confused that I didn't know what to get so I just got both. Now I'm standing here realizing that a handful of crummy flowers isn't anywhere near enough to make up for all the pain I've caused you. Hell, for all I know I've lost any chance that I might have had!"

"Chance?" Marinette's brain stuttered to a stop on that word. Whatever else he had said didn't matter any more. All that was important was that one little word. Chance.

Chat Noir nodded. He still held one hand behind his back. His shoulder sagged from the weight of whatever he was holding.

"Chance." he repeated, "But before you say anything I need to give you this. Here."

Marinette barely had time to adjust the bouquet of flowers against the crook of her arm so they didn't get smashed by the giant book that Chat Noir had pushed unceremoniously into her arms. She actually staggered a bit under its weight. " _The Complete Works of William Shakespeare_ ," she read as she quirked an eyebrow up. "Um… Chat, what exactly is this and why do you want to give it to me?"

"So you can beat me unconscious with it." Chat Noir explained. "It was the thickest, heaviest book I could find on my bookshelf."

The words took a moment to sink into her brain. Marinette really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She settled for continuing confusion instead. It seemed to be working for her for the time being. "You're being a tad bit melodramatic again aren't you kitty? Why would I want to beat you unconscious?"

Chat Noir closed his eyes, backed a step away from her, and shook his head. His shoulders slumped forward as he spread his arms out wide. It was like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. He definitely didn't seem to be in control of his fingers because he was trembling. "It will make more sense in a couple of seconds. Just… just please don't hate me for… for everything I guess." he begged her with a tremor in his voice.

"I could never…" Marinette started. Chat Noir promptly cut her off.

"Don't speak so soon," he mumbled. He took a step backwards, closed his eyes tightly, and spread his arms out wide. "Plagg, retract claws."

Electricity crackled around Chat Noir. Shots of green light rose in the air. Marinette stepped back as it lit up the entirety of her rooftop patio. His familiar suit vanished before her eyes, replaced by something else nearly as familiar. The black plated ring on his finger faded into silver as his little cat kwami, Plagg if Marinette remembered correctly, popped out. Chat Noir's mask melted away last. Marinette's breath froze in her throat and her heart stopped beating altogether. Plagg's large green eyes, the soft glow of the street lamps below, and the small patch of light that escaped through her trapdoor were the only things that illuminated the small space. It wasn't much but it was definitely enough to make out the person standing nervously in front of her.

Marinette's mouth fell open, completely speechless. Then again… what  _exactly_  was she supposed to say about this? She took him in with wide eyes. Why hadn't she seen it sooner? His hair? His eyes? The bridge of his nose? All his mannerisms and gestures? His smile… his laugh? They were all the same! Every last one of them! Marinette had to be the  _dumbest_  girl in all of France if not the entire world.

"Apparently you and Alya call me 'Felix' when you talk about me in public, but it's really just me unfortunately." Adrien Agreste said, trying to put on a joking front. It would've worked better had the words not sounded so hollow, or had Adrien  _not_  been cringing away from her. Marinette's brain was still stuck in place. "Say something please. Scream at me, tell me that you never want to see me again, beat me unconscious with that book. Just say  _something_!"

The book fell out of Marinette's hands with a thunk that could be heard all through the neighborhood. The bouquet would've went too had it not been pressed into the crook of her elbow. Another sound cut through the tense air too. A sharp kind of half squeak and half flustered cry. Adrien cracked his eye open. "Prin… my la… Marinette?" he stammered.

"Oh for the love of…" snorted Plagg before breaking off and saying, "Will you just quit it with the masochistic junk kid? The girl looks like she's about to pass out not throttle you!"

Marinette would've disagreed with him. However, it was kind of hard because her knees were shaking so hard that she was pretty certain they'd turned to jelly. Her tongue had also conveniently disappeared. Adrien moved forward, just a hair, hand outstretched to her and hovering tentatively like she was going to shatter into pieces at any moment. In truth, Marinette probably was. "It's you." she gasped. "All this time?"

"Marinette… I can't even  _begin_  to tell you just how completely and utterly sorry I am." he told her emphatically. His hands wavered in the air. Marinette didn't move.

"Oh God!" She couldn't wrap her head around it. Chat Noir had confessed to her months ago and she'd turned him down because she was in love with Adrien. But Chat Noir  _was_ Adrien. And Adrien was Chat Noir. They were both the same person! Marinette looked up at Adrien again. He was wincing and she didn't blame him.

"Don't beat yourself up about it too much little kitten." Plagg told her, rolling his eyes. "He was just as clueless as you were up until a hour and a half ago."

"Thank you so much Plagg." Adrien grumbled.

"Spent the first twenty minutes bashing his head against the wall in the very same alley that you left him in." Plagg informed her.

"That's enough Plagg." Adrien ducked his face and rubbed the back of his neck. Marinette could just barely make out the red splotch on the top of his forehead.

"For the record, I see no difference between  _that_  and headpressing. You should get yourself looked at before it gets any worse."

"Sh… shut up!" Adrien snapped, turning red enough that it was visible in the low light. He made a mad lunge for Plagg then promptly missed. Plagg darted upwards out of reach while Adrien flailed and tried desperately to keep his balance. He only just barely caught himself before falling flat on his face.

Marinette broke down laughing. Adrien looked up from his still hunched over, balance saving position. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she giggled, pressing her hands over her mouth to stifle the sound.

For the first time since he'd shown up on her roof, Adrien looked somewhat relieved. "Plagg, that's enough. Let the kids talk in private. They need it." Tikki called out.

Marinette spun. Tikki's head poked out from her trapdoor and she glared at Plagg. Plagg snickered a little bit but started her way. "I broke the tension and made her laugh kid. You owe me one." he told Adrien as he passed Marinette.

Adrien turned bright red again. "Duly noted."

"He is exasperating isn't he?" Marinette pointed out.

"Like you wouldn't believe." nodded Adrien. He straightened and started to take a tentative step towards her. However, halfway through the motion he just stopped. A guilt ridden look marred his face. "All those nights that you cried on my shoulder because that guy broke your heart… I was the one who did that to you." he whispered.

Marinette dropped her eyes to the ground, "It wasn't like you knew."

"No, but I still can't believe that I was the one who hurt you. Well I mean I knew I'd hurt you when I told you that I liked someone else but I didn't realize that I was the one who'd made Ladybug  _you_  cry."

"It's alright. It isn't like you did it on purpose. I did it first I guess. When you asked me out that one night after patrol."

"I was just so… so head over heels for Ladybug that I didn't see,  _couldn't_  see, anyone else. It didn't mean that I didn't like  _you_ , Marinette. I just…"

Adrien's voice trailed off. Once more the night air felt bitingly cold on Marinette's skin. The cellophane wrapper around the bouquet crinkled as she rubbed her arms against the cold. "You were caught up in your crush just like I was. I understand."

"And then to make it even worse you were right there telling me that I'd made the right choice and trying to make me feel better about turning a girl down who turned out to be  _you_. I should've seen it. I mean, your mask doesn't hide that shade of blue in your eyes."

"Well, now that you know it's just regular, clumsy Marinette under the mask what do you think? The same girl who couldn't hold a normal conversation with you until a few months ago and someone that you've had to rescue from a damp, dark warehouse after she was kidnapped by an akuma?"

She asked the question so quietly that she wasn't sure if Adrien even heard her. He wasn't transformed as Chat Noir. He did though. "I made a promise to myself after like the second or third time we teamed up. It was kind of a passing comment but I didn't realize how much I'd come to meaning it at the time. I swore that I didn't care who was under the mask. I loved Ladybug one hundred percent."

"I'm not Ladybug. Not really or at least all the time like you think I am. I can't even begin to compete with her! I'm trip over thin air. I'm not all that brave or smart. I didn't think you would ever go for Marinette anyways. I knew it was a such a long shot." Marinette explained. For once she didn't rush through her sentences. She managed to keep an even pace the entire time, heart clenching and eyes watering as she forced herself to look Adrien in the eye.

"You're wrong." Adrien said firmly. "I've seen you stand up to Chloe. You're the first person to take charge of a situation when something goes wrong. You don't back down when you know something is wrong. You can solve almost any problem you set your mind to. You're quick on your feet and can come up with a good plan within minutes."

"What about what happened with Wavemaster?" Marinette questioned. "I was practically the ultimate opposite of the heroic Ladybug."

Adrien opened his mouth. Then he closed it again. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut to try and keep the tears from falling. She should've known. Adrien would probably always be looking over his shoulder now to make sure she hadn't become a damsel in distress again.

"I saw a girl who had risked her life to try and save a friend, or rather the idiot guy she liked, from an akuma. Random and unforeseeable circumstances put her at an extreme disadvantage. She was cold, wet, and scared without any sort of real protection yet she was  _this_  close to taking my head off with a pipe when I got to her. That girl would've gotten out of that warehouse by herself. And now, as I'm saying this, I'm realizing just how painfully obvious it should've been  _again_  that you were Ladybug. Man I'm stupid!"

Marinette blinked, "That doesn't shatter your image of Ladybug? Not even a little?"

"Would it break your idea of Chat Noir if it had been me instead?"

"Of course not!"

"Exactly. We all have moments of weakness. I'm just glad you let me be the one there for you. How many times have you had to bail  _me_  out of trouble?"

"A few."

"You're being generous. I'll always have your back and you'll always have mine. Sound fair?"

"Fair enough. You didn't say anything about my clumsiness." Marinette reminded him, wiping wetness away from her eyes.

"Have you seen  _me_?" snorted Adrien. "Ever since I teamed up with Plagg I spend more of my time on the ground wondering 'why me' than anything else."

"You do not."

"Do too! I just manage to hide it fairly well when I'm not transformed." Adrien broke off. He fell silent for half a moment before clearing his throat.

"Um, about that date you asked me about earlier tonight. Is that offer still on the table because I would really like to take you up on it?"

He held his hand out to her. A timid smile was plastered on his face. Marinette didn't miss the way his fingers twitched. However, he didn't come any closer to her. Adrien waited for her.

Marinette took his outstretched hand and squeezed. Her smile was just as timid and broad as Adrien's. "Yes."


End file.
